Keeping kids away from guns
CMAJ 1997;156:1534
I applaud Drs. Antoine Chapdelaine and Pierre Maurice's excellent article "Firearms injury prevention and gun control in Canada" (CMAJ 1996;155:1285-9 [abstract / résumé). It is particularly timely because, in late November 1996, federal Justice Minister Allan Rock tabled proposed regulations that will define important areas of the law, such as the screening of applicants for firearm ownership and the requirements for locking and storing firearms.[1]
Reducing access to firearms is particularly relevant to preventing injuries to children and adolescents. Developmental characteristics of children and adolescents make them particularly vulnerable to the risks of an improperly stored firearm. Young children may have a poor understanding of the severity and permanence of injuries caused by firearms, or may be so lost in fantasy play that they forget any previous instruction about the dangers of firearms. Adolescents may be impulsive and have feelings of invulnerability. They are subject to peer pressure and may experiment with drugs and alcohol.
Chapdelaine and Maurice make an elegant argument for the effectiveness of the licensure, registration and safe-storage provisions of the new law in reducing unauthorized or inappropriate use of firearms. This decreased availability and accessibility of firearms is likely to reduce related mortality, particularly in younger people, who are greatly affected by measures that reduce the availability of firearms.[2,3]
Katherine A. Leonard, MD
Medical Director
Teen Clinic
North York General Hospital
North York, Ont.
References
- Guide to proposed firearms regulations. Ottawa: Department of Justice Canada; 1996.
- Carrington PJ, Moyer S. Gun availability and suicide in Canada: testing the displacement hypothesis. Stud Crime Crime Prev 1994;3:168-78.
- Sloan JH, Rivera RP, Reay DT, et al. Firearms regulations and rates of suicide: a comparison to two metropolitan areas. N Engl J Med 1990;322:369-73.
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