Three-year-olds Capable of Firing Available Guns

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Contrary to the belief of some parents, police officers, and other professionals familiar with firearms, many young children are strong enough to fire most commercially available guns, according to an article in the December 1995 issue of the AMA's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Sara M. Naureckas, M.D., Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill., and colleagues tested the pull strength of 556 children. The mothers of the children were also tested.

The researchers found: "An estimated 25 percent of three- to four-year-olds, 70 percent of five- to six-year-olds, and 90 percent of seven- to eight-year-olds have a two-finger trigger-pull strength higher than the fifth percentile one-finger trigger-pull strength for adult women." The fifth percentile is the lowest five percent of a particular group. This means that many children have the strength to fire a gun that five percent of women cannot.

The women in the fifth percentile were unable to fire a gun with a trigger-pull setting of 10 pounds or more. Data on the specifications of 64 currently available firearms show that most (59 firearms or 92 percent) have a trigger-pull setting of 10 pounds or less. Forty firearms (63 percent) have a trigger-pull setting of less than five pounds. The researchers found that at least 85 percent of three- to four-year olds could fire a gun with a trigger-pull setting of less than five pounds.

The authors write: "Our data show that even young children are strong enough to fire available handguns. To protect not only very young children, but also older children and adults from handgun-related death and injury, future research should focus on ways to keep guns away from children, rather than only on trying to make guns safer."

They suggest using the classic approach of the "Three Es" - education, engineering, and enforcement of legislation: educating people about the physical capabilities of children; engineering modification of firearms that will reduce injury risk without any additional participation by the product user (e.g., the reduction in motor vehicle injuries brought about by an improved vehicle and highway design); and legislative and enforcement efforts to keep young children from firing handguns.

The study cites a General Accounting Office study showing that 1,500 people are killed by unintentional firearm discharge every year. In about eight percent of those cases, the shooter was younger than six years of age.

Source:
American Medical Association, Physicians dedicated to the health of America
515 North State Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654
Telephone: (800) 621-8335
Web: www.ama-assn.org

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