By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Veteran Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler recently took a hard look at claims by anti-gunners, including the Biden administration, that more children are dying from gunshot wounds than car crashes and found the assertion wanting, but still declined to assign a “Pinocchio” rating.
The National Rifle Association, which has challenged the claim by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, is not happy. Reacting to Kessler’s column from Feb. 7, the NRA says in a news release, “The Post makes much of the fact that the gap between the two sources of mortality is closing and that the United States is an outlier in the number of young people who die in firearm-related incidents. It also refuses to assign its traditional “Pinocchio” rating to the gun controllers’ claim.”
Traditionally, Kessler hands out one to four “Pinocchios” based on whether someone is fibbing and the degree of how deceptive their information might be.
“But,” the NRA continues, “it is unambiguous on the basic point: “When all motor vehicle accidents are counted, then motor vehicle deaths continue to exceed firearm deaths for children — defined as people under age 18 — whether or not infants are included.”
Kessler’s examination of the claim is not forgiving. He wrote, “When you focus only on children — 17 and younger — motor vehicle deaths (broadly defined) still rank No. 1, as they have for six decades, though the gap is rapidly closing.”
Kessler, who has not played favorites with his fact checking, notes how gun control proponents have combined the numbers of deaths among children ages 17 and under with the fatalities among 18- and 19-year-olds.
This is nothing new. The gun prohibition lobby has, over the years, combined murder data with accidental shootings and suicides to inflate the number, broadly defining all of these fatalities as the result of “gun violence.”
Kessler observed, “By including 18- and 19-year-olds, excluding infants under age 1 and comparing firearm deaths with only vehicle crashes, Johns Hopkins reports that in 2021, there were 4,733 firearm deaths of “children and teens” compared with 4,048 deaths from motor vehicle crashes.
“But,” he continued, “by counting only children 17 and under, including infants under the age of 1, and comparing with all motor vehicle deaths, the CDC data shows that in 2021, there were 2,590 firearm deaths of children, compared with 2,687 motor vehicle deaths.”
A couple of lines later, Kessler noted, “If one focuses just on vehicle crashes, as Johns Hopkins does, then starting in 2020, firearm deaths exceeded motor vehicle deaths of children ages 1 to 17.”
He subsequently added, “In any case, the CDC shows that firearm deaths have climbed rapidly since 2019, so unless current trends reverse, very soon firearm deaths of children will exceed motor vehicles deaths — no matter how you slice the numbers.”
Firing back, the NRA argues, “What the Post does not mention, but what bears emphasis, is that firearm prohibitionists do not make declarative statements to educate or enlighten people on the facts but to elicit an emotional response that the prohibitionists hope will increase support for gun control. In the case of “gun deaths” involving “children,” people will naturally think of accidents involving readily accessible guns stored in homes or vehicles or even kids killed in school shootings (thankfully the rarest version of this phenomenon by far). Indeed, the “child gun death” talking point is often used as a justification for so-called “safe storage laws” that seek to impose criminal penalties for storing guns loaded and ready for immediate use.”
Still, Kessler closes his critique with this: “In the interest of accuracy, it would be better for White House officials to refer to children and teens when citing these reports. When all motor vehicle accidents are counted, then motor vehicle deaths continue to exceed firearm deaths for children — defined as people under age 18 — whether or not infants are included.”
