Let’s treat gun safety as a public health issue

Quick, are you more likely to die by a bullet or in a car crash?

Common sense would seem to suggest the latter.

Nevertheless, in 14 states and the District of Columbia the number of gun fatalities has overtaken the number of road deaths, and the rest of the nation appears on track to follow suit. This is a striking when you consider that more than 90 percent of American households own a car, whereas a little more than one-third have a gun.

One reason for the flip-flop is that for nearly 50 years, the nation has been focused on making driving safer. We have gone in the opposite direction on firearms.Why can't we see firearms from the same perspective, as a consumer safety issue?

Any policy discussion of guns in America is poisoned by politics. The gun debate has long been awash with misinformation and shrill rhetoric. Whether the topic is mass shootings or violent criminals, advocates on both sides of the gun control issue can be counted on to miss the forest for the trees.

Consider that of the more than 32,000 gun deaths every year, a full two-thirds are unintentional shootings and suicides (there are more than 19,000 gun suicides a year). These fatalities are tragic and largely preventable, as when a child finds a loaded and unsecured gun and kills a sibling or playmate.

Let's suppose we could all agree that the right to own firearms was not in question in the United States, and that government and industry would become dedicated to making those firearms as safe as possible. What progress could we achieve in gun mortality?

Frankly, there is a lot we do not know about guns and how they are used by Americans, be it legally or criminally. We can't prevent further harm until we understand how accidents happen, how much more likely a person is to commit suicide if a gun is accessible, how guns wind up in criminals' hands, and a raft of other questions.

More and better studies might encourage safety-conscious gun owners to accept new measures to keep their guns safe.

Design changes such as safety grips, biometrics to keep guns from firing by just any hand, and better indications that the chamber is loaded also need to be studied for their effectiveness in reducing accidents.

It took time, but American drivers grudgingly accepted wearing seat belts as mandatory, and now we value everything from high-tech air bag protection to gizmos that warn us of unseen dangers as we back up our cars.

It's past time for a similar attitude shift about gun safety.

l Mary Sanchez is a syndicated columnist distributed by MCT Information Services. Comments: msanchez@kcstar.com