Is there a better way to help prevent deaths and injuries from firearms?
Any safety device, no matter how high-tech, can address only a small percentage of the annual toll taken by firearms. Yet there are less complicated, less expensive safety mechanisms that exist today and could be integrated easily into every new gun. Adjusting the trigger pull on some handguns that currently require very little strength to fire the weapon could help prevent unintentional shootings, especially by children. Any type of “positive safety” device would also decrease the frequency of unintentional discharges. Incidents when guns are fired because people thought they were not loaded could be reduced by adding load indicators and magazine disconnects. High-quality trigger locking devices can deter suicide and unintentional injuries if they are used properly. Firearms are currently exempt from the health and safety laws that apply to every other consumer product in America, from toasters to teddy bears. Applying those same standards to guns is the real key to reducing firearm d
