Alphecca: Pools More Dangerous Than Guns

June 12, 2005

Pools More Dangerous Than Guns

Wow! The Arizona Daily Star has a news story stating that kids are more at risk from pools than guns:

Standard summer companions in our desert climate, swimming pools can be deadlier for children than guns. A child is 100 times more likely to die in a swimming accident than in gunplay, writes Steven D. Levitt, University of Chicago economics professor and best-selling author.

Levitt analyzed child deaths from residential swimming pools and guns and found one child under 10 drowns annually for every 11,000 pools. By comparison, one child under 10 each year is killed by a gun for every 1 million guns, according to his research, outlined in a new book "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side to Everything," which he co-wrote with journalist Stephen J. Dubner.

In part because they are so familiar, swimming pools are less frightening than guns, Levitt writes.

But the danger is clear - drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children younger than 5 in Arizona and the second-leading cause of injury-related death nationally among children younger than 15.

Water kills an average of three children each year in Tucson and, even with proper fences, swimming lessons and caution, danger lurks.

The article even has statistics at the end of it that drives home the point:

In Arizona

— Accidental deaths in Arizona for children, 2000-2003

— Drowning: 140

— Gunshot wound: 15

Source: Arizona Child Fatality Review Program

And remember that (in most areas or states) pools are as heavily regulated as are firearms. My point here isn't that any of this is "good news" since all of us would prefer to see NO accidental deaths. What I AM saying is that the freedoms we enjoy as part of the "pursuit of happiness" clause will always result in some loss of life, whether from skiing, swimming, driving, eating, or almost any other hobby or ownership. You can't ban something (or item) because it could be dangerous, unless you really want to live in some THX-1138 nightmare world.

Swimming pools (and lakes, the ocean, etc.) give us great pleasure and we accept the risks. Firearms can also give us great pleasure (target shooting, hunting) and as an important benefit they give us protection, also with risks. We need to exercise reasonable caution and care with both instead of trying to ban either of them. Both pools and guns need to be supervised when children are present.

Lasly, I'm sure someone will say that those statistics are only for accidents; what about intentional injury and murder by people using guns? I'm sure no one wants me to bring up the recently publicized cases of mothers drowning their children in pools or in the bathtub.

Statistics can, of course, be twisted to support any argument and overall -- certainly -- more folks meet an untimely death from firearms than from swimming pools, but most gun deaths are from intentional, criminal misuse (or suicide), not from accidents.

ANYTHING can be used for evil, even the Bible and Koran. That isn't an excuse to ban them.

Posted by Jeff Soyer at June 12, 2005 07:51 AM

Comments

Years ago, when my father was offered a job in Arizona (I think it was) he and my mother thought it over, and since my sister and I were little at the time (and she was a hyper one--running all over the place) our family didn't move to the Southwest b/c of the number of cases that came into the ERs from pool accidents and scorpion bites. The former was the big ocncern.

Posted by: jaws at June 12, 2005 12:36 PM

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June 12, 2005

Pools More Dangerous Than Guns

By Golly, you're reading an archived post. Click Here to head to the main page and read current stuff...

Check it out:

My group sci-fi blog novel:

Colony: Alchibah