AAP News Vol. 15 No. 8 August 1999, p. 22
© 1999 American Academy of Pediatrics
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Bad kids; not bad guns

Keith B. Johnson M.D., FAAP1

1 Nokomis, Fla.

I read with great interest the "Letter from the President," Joel Alpert, M.D., in the June issue of AAP News. As a father and a pediatrician, I share Dr. Alpert's angst at the senseless tragedy in Littleton, Colo. However, his impassioned cry for disarmament warrants a factual response.

Dr. Alpert conveniently leaves out the statistics on the number of Americans (both adults and children) who are saved by law-abiding citizens who carry guns each day. It is inherently difficult to quantify the number of rapes, murders and robberies prevented due to lawful gun ownership (just as it is hard to quantify the number of children saved by antibiotics each year).