CNN Cites Accidental Gun Deaths of Children, 27x Lower than Accidental Car Deaths, as Reason for More Gun Control

CNN pushed gun control by citing accidental gun death figures for children but omitted the fact that car accidents kill 27 times more children.

In a Monday article CNN pointed to a study in the Injury Epidemiology journal, which “looked at cases over a nearly a decade in which children under 15 accidentally killed themselves or another child with a gun.”

It noted that using “data from 2009 to 2018 across 33 states, the team counted 279 cases in which kids under 15 accidentally died due to firearm injury.”

Those behind the study noted how many times the accidental gun deaths occurred at home and how often the gun involved was loaded and accessible.

Dr. Eric Fleegler, lead researcher in the study, opined that Americans believe guns keep them safer but suggested they really do not: “People do not view guns as a safety risk. They view guns frequently as the exact opposite: as a mechanism for protecting their family. The notion that guns protect us and they don’t, potentially, put us at risk is where the troubling thought process begins.”

Some researchers recommended “safe storage” practices and doctor involvement in urging families with children to lock up their guns. They also believe politicians should get involved.

CNN highlighted the key role Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) numbers played in the study, but did not mention CDC numbers showing accidental car deaths of children in 2020 were exponentially higher than unintentional gun deaths in the same age group.

In fact, on May 26, 2022, Breitbart News noted CDC information showed accidental car deaths among children were 27 times higher than unintentional gun deaths.

For example, CDC figures show 149 unintentional gun deaths among children ages 0-19 in 2020. The figures show 4,036 unintentional car deaths for children during the same year.

CNN omitted mention of the accidental car deaths.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.