The numbers sadden Dr. Daniel Blumenthal, but they don’t surprise him.

Dr. Daniel Blumenthal is a retired pediatrician and professor emeritus of public health and preventive medicine at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Contributed

Blumenthal is a retired pediatrician, past president of American College of Preventive Medicine, and professor emeritus of public health and preventive medicine at the Morehouse School of Medicine. When he read Ivey’s story, he sent me an email.

“If Ivey’s family had only known that statistics show that a gun in the house is far more likely to be used (accidentally or not) against a friend or relative than an intruder. If they’d only known that there are far more gun-related suicides than homicides. If they’d only known that it is next to impossible to hide a gun from a teen; research has shown that in most houses where the gun owner thinks his gun is well-hidden, the teen knows where it is. If they’d only known these things, perhaps Ivey would be alive today.”

Blumenthal said that he’s been concerned about the level of gun violence in our country for a long time but not because of anything that has happened to him personally.

“There have been no gun-related incidents in my home, but I am concerned about gun violence and the number of gun-related deaths—both homicide and suicide,” he said. “I also recognize, given the political climate, that nothing is likely to be done legislatively to address this issue in the near future, but I think there are things individuals can do, and one of them is not have a gun in the house.”

Depending on which study you read, Blumenthal said that people who have a gun in the house are anywhere from four to 10 times more likely to shoot a friend or relative as they are to shoot a stranger.

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“I know that there are recommendations about safe gun storage, but if you have a gun because you are concerned about an intruder or an assault, then you are not likely to want to keep the ammunition stored separately from the gun or have the gun locked up. So a better strategy is simply not to have a gun in the house,” he said.

I realize that seems simplistic, but the problems we face are rarely as difficult as we make them out to be. More often than not, we simply lack the will to change.

Blumenthal says he recalls a time a few years ago, when a child was being shot by another child every week for five weeks running.

“Don’t have a gun in the house when you have a small child,” he repeated. “I recognize based on Supreme Court rulings, people have a right to have a gun in their homes, but that doesn’t make it smart. I think they’re being foolish.”

He continues to make his point: “Of all the gun-related deaths in the country, about 60 percent are suicides rather than homicide. People who attempt suicide with a gun are almost always successful. Those who attempt by taking pills are usually saved, and then they don’t wind up trying again. Most suicides are spur of the moment decisions. If they have more time to think, they are less likely to try again. If you use a gun, you don’t get a second chance.”

When he wrote to me soon after reading the story about Ivey Mustaki, Blumenthal ended his missive with this: “Maybe you could help get the word out.”

Well, here it is. I pray to God it helps.

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