Proliferation of guns will bring more accidents

In response to Mr. Landry's letter "Guns at grocery could be lifesavers," published on Feb. 3, he seems to be unaware of critical facts.

It's far more likely a gun will be used accidentally than in self-defense. In the most recent statistics I found by the Violence Policy Center, in 2012 there were 259 justifiable homicides in which guns were used in self-defense. The same year there were 548 fatal unintentional shootings.

The FBI reported that over five years, there were 38 homicides, suicides and unintentional deaths for every one justifiable homicide.

As we get more people who think it's appropriate to carry weapons on their trips to Target and Starbucks, these accidents are going to increase.

Just this last week or so I read there was some moron who "accidentally" shot a woman in a movie theater while playing with his gun, and a mother who was shot by her small son in a Target parking lot when her son found her "hidden" gun.

Is this the world we want to live in, wondering if the kid in the shopping cart is going to grab the gun from Dad's waistband or Mom's purse?

A gun for self-defense requires accessibility, and accessibility leads to accidents.

And let's just ignore that in the U.S. annual gun deaths significantly exceed 30,000 a year, far exceeding the rates in other developed countries with rational gun laws.

I don't object to rational gun ownership. I carry a FOID card. But the "guns make us safer" argument reminds me of the people decades ago who objected to seat belts because "what if you drove in to a lake and the seat belt got stuck?" Yea, that can happen. But that's not where to place your bet.

Paul Bruno

Gurnee