PEDIATRICS Vol. 77 No. 5 May 1986, pp. 781-782
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Handguns: Risks versus Benefits

KATHERINE K. CHRISTOFFEL MD, MPH1 and TOM CHRISTOFFEL JD1

1 Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University and Children's Memorial Hospital, Health Resources Management, University of Illinois School of Public Health, Chicago

THE ISSUE

There are an estimated 40 to 50 million handguns in the United States, with approximately 2 million more being manufactured annually1 (The New York Times, July 9, 1985, p 16). The high prevalence of handgun injury in the United States is unique in all the world and is increasing. Children are among the growing legions of US citizens harmed by the handgun epidemic.2 The effort to control handguns is focussed on developing laws to control their manufacture, importation, purchase, possession, and use. Opponents of these legal approaches claim that gun control endangers constitutional freedoms. When asked, the US Supreme court has consistently rejected that position in favor of the view that the Second Amendment protects a collective, not a personal, right to bear arms.3,4