The National Safety Council has recently released a statistical report using data that has been collected since 1903.
Not only does it show that unintentional firearms fatalities are currently the lowest on record, but it also demonstrates a marked decline in recent years. Between 2014 and 2015, unintended fatalities dropped by 17%. This category also saw the biggest drop, percentage-wise, in any of the accidental death categories, ending up at about 0.03% of all the accidental deaths on record.
Interestingly, unintentional deaths from other causes actually went up during that period.
Of interest, this decline occurred during a period of record firearms sales in the U.S., demonstrating a link between owner safety awareness, training, proper gun storage, and education.
National Shooting Sports Foundation President and CEO, Steve Sanetti, had this to say about the report and American gun owners:
"This latest release from the National Safety Council shows that the vast majority of the 100 million American firearms owners meet the serious responsibilities which come with firearms ownership. They store their firearms safely and securely when not in use, and follow the basic rules of firearms safety when handling them."
The NSSF draws a clear link between effective gun safety training, awareness, and education. Under the NSSF mandate they continue to provide programs like Project ChildSafe. The findings also point out that the vast majority of firearms owners understand the serious responsibilities of gun ownership.
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