Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence would like to add a tip for holiday shopping; don’t put a handgun under the tree.Research associate Jeremy Brigham says from collector hunting guns to the cheapest “Saturday-night special” handgun, no consumer regulatory agency checks guns for safety or handling quality. He says the guns might have a trigger-pull even a child can use, and it won’t have a “load indicator” that could warn you there’s a bullet in the chamber. Brigham knows there are experts, sportsmen and collectors who would appreciate a gun for Christmas, but those firearms are in a different league than cheap handguns, he points out. There are lots of things that could make guns safer, but no agency regulates that, so there’s no way to find out which have caused injuries or deaths. The group supports consumer testing of firearms just like the extensive safety reviews done on other products.
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