As gun sales soared into record highs, accidental gun deaths sank to record lows

Brandon Morse  Mar 21, 2017 8:34 pm

According to new information out of the National Safety Council, an interesting statistic has surfaced that may surprise many gun control advocates.

Despite gun sales having reached lofty heights over the past two years, the NSC says in its “injury report” that in 2015 accidental deaths by guns was down to an all time low of 489. As the Washington Examiner points out, that’s 0.3% of all deaths, making it the lowest it’s been since 1903 when this record keeping began.

“That’s about three-tenths of 1 percent of the 146,571 total accidental deaths from all other listed causes. The decrease came in a year that saw record firearms sales to many millions of Americans,” according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun industry’s representative.

In 2015, 23 million firearms had been sold, with an increase to 27 million the following year. With all these guns sold, and accidental deaths dropping to historic lows, the National Shooting Sports Foundation believes that education about gun safety and responsibility is finally beginning to pay off.

“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,” said Sports Foundation President and CEO Steve Sanetti. “They store their firearms safely and securely when not in use, and follow the basic rules of firearms safety when handling them.”