News that Tennessee leads the nation in fatal accidental shootings has prompted the TN Dept. of Health to “correct” the data, from 105 to… wait for it…. five.
While 105 may indeed be wrong, five defies credibility. Especially when looking at previous years’ numbers:
2010 — 31
2011 — 31
2012– 24
2013 — 19
2014 — five…?
Safe Tennessee says they tracked 13 for 2015 and 12 so far this year. So five fatalities in 2014 is clearly bogus.
I started the Tennessee Gun Report in 2013, never intending to create a data base and research tool, but rather to highlight the public safety costs associated with Tennessee’s pro-gun policies. However, the tool is there. It’s imperfect: links to many news stories are now dead, there’s a lack of follow-up (too many reports of a victim “fighting for their life,” not enough updates on the outcome of that battle), too many weeks where I was too busy to track the local papers.
Still, I spent last night going through the 2014 archive and found 13 accidental gun fatalities. Definitely more in line with the numbers we’ve been seeing. And again, even this is imperfect.
There’s a real story here, and it’s just as embarrassing as the TN Dept. of Health revising a ridiculously off-base number with one equally incredible. It’s that nobody knows what the hell is going on because ignorance is more politically tenable than facts. The state legislature has unleashed a rash of liberal gun laws on the public: anyone wanting to avoid being around firearms is now forced to interact with gun owners in public places like restaurants, parks, the workplace, etc.
Shouldn’t we be interested in knowing what the public health and safety repercussions of that are?
Clearly, the state is unable to accurately track this data. And I can attest that the job is too big for one private citizen to do, too.
We need real data, of the kind funded by the Federal government. It’s long past time for people to grow a pair and stand up to the NRA and TN Firearms Assn. on this issue.
Southern Beale 
Hah, SB. While most people who follow your blog are of like mind on this issue, including me, it might be fun to watch for any reaction to your use of the phrase, “liberal gun laws.” I think you’ve just majorly confused the WalMartians. “We gotta stop them liberal gun laws!”
Yes, that was by design!
“Classically neoliberally altliberal!”
Keep them wondering what you’ve been up to.
Wait. Down below the state reported to the CDC a figure of 105. When the CDC asked them to verify the record they confirmed iit as accurate. Now they are claiming only five. Is it too much to be suspicious that someone doesn’t want such blatant evidence that the new gun laws are killing a lot more people and it is being covered up?
Could be, grasshopper. Though, 105 is a big change from the years surrounding it, too.
I suspect they are looking at data that reflects a prosecution; two kids fooling around with a gun, the shooting is accidental, but someone is prosecuted. And that’s not accurate, either. By that metric, if we prosecuted all cases of gun negligence, we’d have zero accidental shooting fatalities.