During the debate over the Senate background checks bill last month, one consistent pro-gun talking point was that expanded background checks would not have prevented the Newtown massacre.
However, the parents of the Newtown victims often said the proposed bill wasn't for their slain children, but rather future children who may be killed by guns.
Since the Newtown mass shooting in December 2012, at least 71 children (age 12 or under) have been killed in the U.S. by guns, reports Mother Jones.
That rate, for just five months, actually exceeds some countries' yearly rates of total gun murder deaths. Japan had only seven in 2011, per the Associated Press.
According to Mother Jones, the statistics for children being killed by guns breaks down as follows:
40 killings were unintentional and 31 were alleged homicides.
The most common scenario was kid-on-kid: At least 29 of the accidental deaths occurred when a kid under 17 pulled the trigger.
The average age of the victims was just under six years old.
20 victims were girls and 51 were boys.
The problem was worst in the South: Florida had the most kids killed (four accidents, five alleged homicides), followed by Ohio and Tennessee (four accidents and two alleged homicides in each state), followed by Alabama (two accidents, two alleged homicides) and South Carolina (four accidents).
A spreadsheet created by Mother Jones documents all the victims and was put together using Slate.com's news reports of gun deaths plus additional research by Mother Jones.
Source: Mother Jones, Slate.com, Associated Press
Reader Comments
Where are they? I think irresponsible parents need to be penalized and re-educated on proper storage of guns in order for legal ownership.
Guns don't kill, ignorance of the person that is supposed to be in control of the guns do. Be it a parent not storing it away from kids or the person actually holding the gun. Do these parents keep meds away from children? Do they seatbelt their child in vehicles? Do they teach them to look both ways when crossing a street? Quit blaming the guns.
Again, educated responsible people suffering for the faults of others......Warning labels on hairdryers comes to mind.
Side note related to my last,
It is obvious the politicians and government don't act humane and responsible when handling weapons.
How many innocent people children included were killed by the actions of OUR Governments in this time frame?
Are we looking to vote to ban the military and their use of weapons? Nope. Pretty backwards imo.