Letters
Accidental firearm-related deaths, although tragic, don’t provoke the outraged national reaction that a massacre does.
Care with language, statistics needed
I read with outrage and astonishment the commentary written by Joseph Sca- mardo, MD, in the April 2013 issue of Texas Medicine (see “Essential Liberties,” pages 7–8). I urge Dr. Scamardo to be far more careful with his language and his statistics. Whether or not I agree with him is not the issue. The real issue is that his careless use of these elements is both inflammatory as well as totally wrong. Let’s begin with language. By refer- ring to people proposing increased gun control as “The Left,” the author stigma- tizes the group. He immediately reflects his bias. I recognize this is a commen- tary, without obligation to be either fair or even-handed. Still, it would have been more effective and appropriate to deal with the issue rather than denigrate those who think and believe differently. And while I will concede that those in favor of increased gun control tend to be to the left of the political center, I am sure there are those on the opposite side of the political fence who espouse some form of gun control, as well.
It is generally when gun violence di-
rectly affects an individual that we see him adopt a position that some sort of control is desirable, whether he sits po- litically left or right of center. I cannot recall reading or hearing about anyone who has had a loved one gunned down adopting the position that despite a senseless, personal gun-related tragedy, free and unlimited access to all guns is still desirable. It is, however, the statistics quoted by
Dr. Scamardo that are the most amazing. He talks about fatal accidents involv- ing guns. The arguments involving gun control are in no way remotely involved with the “accidental” deaths by firearms. The arguments concern the use of fire- arms in intentional acts, not accidents. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, in 2010 there were 31,672 firearm deaths in the Unit- ed States. Now, whereas I am willing to concede that this number may be higher than the reality, it is nowhere near the 613 firearm-related fatal accidents (in 2007) Dr. Scamardo quoted. Still, as- suming that the rate of accidental gun- related deaths remains somewhat con- stant, this would mean that there were
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kfortney@covhs.org June 2013 TEXAS MEDICINE 7
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