Handguns as a pediatric problem. 1986

Handgun injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in American society, particularly for young people. Large numbers of children are affected by handgun violence through the loss of fathers, brothers, and other relatives. Young children are injured and sometimes killed in handgun accidents. Some children and many adolescents are murdered with handguns. Because of their great lethality and very limited ability to provide personal protection, the great burden of handgun injury can best be reduced by making handguns less available. Handgun control cannot reduce rates of crime or interpersonal assault, but it can be expected to reduce the frequency and severity of injury which grows out of these situations, to levels closer to the much lower ones found in other countries. Pediatricians can contribute to this effort, as they have to the efforts to reduce the morbidity and mortality from poisonings and motor vehicle passenger injury.