“The .45 caliber pistol that killed Lucas Heagren, 3, on Memorial Day last year at his Ohio home had been temporarily hidden under the couch by his father. But Lucas found it and shot himself through the right eye.”

Thus begins an investigative report, "Children and Guns," published in the Sept. 29 New York Times. Unsurprisingly, a National Rifle Association 2013 fact sheet opposing "safe storage" laws stated children were more likely to be killed by falls, poisoning or environmental factors.

The Times analyzed actual death records in the few states where the records are public. They established that accidental child deaths from guns are under-reported by a factor of two, showing the NRA’s position to be untruthful, to say the least.

Gun rights advocates assert that a majority of accidental shootings of children are committed by adult criminals. The Times established this as false; tragically, children were usually the shooters.

Accidental shooting of children is a far larger problem than previously thought. But the NRA opposes all attempts to require safe storage, and has even successfully had their congressional lackeys pass legislation that prevents the Centers for Disease Control from even studying the problem.

To NRA’s leadership I say, shame on you! Their obsession with guns renders them impervious to even the most common-sense regulations to help keep the public safe.

MARIANNE PHILLIPS

Allentown