Time to ban knives

[olyclimber]

i would like to see some hard numbers as to how many eyes have been put out by red ryders. don't talk to me with emotion about this subject...I just want the facts.

[olyclimber]

An estimated 3.2 million nonpowder guns are sold in the United States each year; 80% of these have muzzle velocities greater than 350 feet per second (fps) and 50% have velocities from 500 fps to 930 fps (AC Homan, US Consumer Product Safety Commission, unpublished data, 1994). Most of these guns are intended for use by persons aged 8-18 years. At close range, projectiles from many BB and pellet guns, especially those with velocities greater than 350 fps, can cause tissue damage similar to that inflicted by powder-charged bullets fired from low-velocity conventional firearms (3). Injuries associated with use of these guns can result in permanent disability or death (4); injuries from BBs or pellets projected from air guns involving the eye particularly are severe (5). For example, based on data from the National Eye Trauma System and the United States Eye Injury Registry -- a system of voluntary reporting by ophthalmologists -- projectiles from air guns account for 63% of reported perforating eye injuries that occur in recreational settings.