NSSF Cites Drop in Unintentional Firearms Fatalities
NSSF Cites 17 Percent Drop in Unintentional Firearms Fatalities
NEWTOWN, Conn. – The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) applauds the work of responsible firearm owners for helping to keep guns out of the wrong hands, as it shares the latest data regarding unintentional fatalities involving firearms. The National Safety Council’s “Injury Facts-2017 Edition” shows a 17 percent decrease in accidents involving firearms from 2014 to 2015, a year in which firearms sales soared.
This decline to 489 unintentional firearms-related fatalities is the lowest total since record-keeping began in 1903 and accounts for less than 1 percent (three-tenths of 1 percent) of the 146,571 accident deaths from all listed causes, which were up 8 percent from 2014 to 2015. This decrease, which was the largest percentage decline of any category, came in a year that saw record high firearms sales to many millions of Americans. Read more