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	news bulletins october 2002

• Parents Cautioned Against Buying Guns to Protect Against Sniper Attacks and Other Gun Violence
• Kids In Danger
• Food from the Sun
• Have you registered for the NVIC Conference yet?

Parents Cautioned Against Buying Guns to Protect Against Sniper Attacks and Other Gun Violence
Parents who buy a gun as a response to the type of sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. area, or gun violence elsewhere in the United States, are increasing, rather than decreasing, the risk to their children, according to the experts at SafeChild.net

Studies by public health professionals have found that having a gun around for any reason increases the likelihood that a family member - as opposed to a criminal - will be injured or killed. After the 9/11 attack, a 3-year-old boy in Virginia tragically shot and killed himself with a handgun that his father brought home for protection.

"Clearly, the sniper attacks represent every parents worst nightmare, but the tragic irony is that buying a gun for self-protection will most likely increase the risk of danger to your child," said Consumer Federation of America Foundation (CFAF) Firearms Project Director Susan Peschin. "Statistics show that guns are more likely to injure innocent people, than protect them. Even the most well-behaved children are curious and discovering a gun at home presents a dangerous opportunity to explore and experiment. Keeping a gun at home is a serous threat to your child with little or no benefit."

According to SafeChild.net, guns in the home are more likely to be a source of danger than protection because:

• Firearms are more likely to be used in crimes rather than to prevent them.
• Firearms are not regulated for safety and could have safety-related defects.
• The use of firearms for self-defense is a flawed concept according to criminal experts.

• Lock and store bullets in a separate location.
• Make sure children don't have access to the keys.
• Ask police for advice on safe storage and gunlocks.

About Safechild.net & CFAF
The nonprofit SafeChild.net Web site features special sections for parents,professionals who work with children and child advocates. In order to aid parents seeking more information about recalls and child safety, SafeChild.net makes available a free, non-commercial and confidential e-mail notification service detailing major child-safety product recalls and related child-safety tips.

SafeChild.net is a project of the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America Foundation. CFAF was founded in 1972 as a private, nonprofit, research and education organization that compliments the work of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

CFA, a nonprofit association of approximately 280 pro-consumer groups, was founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through advocacy and education. Child safety and health is an important part of this mission, and CFAF and CFA both have a long history of educating the public on child safety and public health issues.

Kids In Danger
Kids in Danger (KID) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by improving children's product safety. KID was founded in 1998 by Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar, the parents of sixteen month-old Danny Keysar who died in his Chicago childcare home when a portable crib collapsed around his neck. The group has made great strides to promote the development of safer children's products, advocate for children, and educate the public about dangerous children's products.

The KID sponsored "Kid's Education and Outreach" workshop campaign provides lifesaving product safety information to parents, caregivers and service providers throughout the Chicago area. Their "Is My Child Safe" brochure is available in both English and Spanish to parents and caregivers across the country via the KID website. KID has many new projects and campaigns on the horizon to raise visibilty of dangerous children's products and the shortfalls of the current system of children's product safety testing.

For more information, or to make a donation, visit the KID web site at www.kidsindanger.org

Food from the Sun
Guns are firing in Afghanistan, but that hasn't stopped Rotary International from delivering a little bit of sun-sun ovens, that is. The nonprofit group founded The Temple Solar Project in 1997 to send solar ovens to Third World countries in need. The sun ovens, which look like large satellite dishes, are meant to help areas where cooking fuel and other resources are scarce. The ovens reduce deforestation and green house gases, improve diet, eliminate the need to hunt for firewood, and provide a source of income for women in remote villages. Since 1997, more than 35 micro bakeries have been established in Honduras, Ghana, Nepal, the Dominican Republic, and now Afghanistan. The latter country's recipients were two schools, one for girls, in Aibak and Kabul.
For more information, see www.rotarysolarovens.org/crisis.html or write Temple Solar Project, Rotary District 6450, 13525 Red Coat Drive, Lemont, Illinois 60439.

Have you registered for the NVIC Conference yet?
Don't miss the chance, which only comes once every two years, to hear an incredible line-up of distinguished speakers focusing on the science, policy, politics and law of vaccination. Come and learn about:

• First-hand stories of individuals whose lives have been forever affected by vaccine reactions;
• Ground breaking scientific research into how and why vaccines cause permanent injury and death;
• The latest breakthroughs in identifying and successfully treating brain and immune system dysfunction following vaccination;
• What is happening to mandatory vaccination laws, vaccine exemptions and medical privacy;
• How federal and state legislation will affect your civil and informed consent rights in emergency and non-emergency public health initiatives.

• Andy Wakefield, M.D. will describe the consequences of searching for scientific truth and telling what he found. (Special Fundraising Dinner for him on Friday Night)
• Michael Palmer, M.D., author of FATAL, the NY Times bestseller will tell why he wrote the book and the information he discovered along the way.
• You will meet other parents and professionals from your state at a special networking session on Thursday evening also featuring personal testimonials.