The reason that famed axiom of “there are lies, damned lies and statistics” rings true is because of how often statistics are employed as a means of convincing others to believe assertions that simply aren’t true. A favorite leftist tactic is to trot out statistics linked to children. If they can tie any political issue to its impact upon kids, the most innocent among us, then they can claim the high ground and demand that conservatives acquiesce to their political demands or be labeled as uncaring and anti-children.

On Monday, CNN released a story with the following provocative headline: “Guns kill almost 1,300 US children annually, study finds.” The Washington Post took it to the next level with the editorial headline, “Children are dying because of America’s lax gun policies.” Both articles open by relaying emotional stories about young children being accidentally shot. The Post’s editorial is nothing but a hit piece against guns and the National Rifle Association, offering almost no actual data. CNN at least offers some of the study’s statics but uses them in what can best be described as a crafty game of semantics dodge ball.

First, CNN and the Washington Post intentionally broaden the application of the term “children.” As previously mentioned, the articles open with tales of gun accidents involving young children, and the clear implication is that the number of children killed by guns mentioned in the headlines must be young. The trouble is that both articles’ opening anecdotes are outliers that don’t accurately reflect the study. Of those 1,300 children killed by guns, less than 4% were by accident or under the age of 13. According to the study, the number of teenagers killed, ages 13 to 17, was 12 times higher than those 12 and under.

Second, the stories falsely perpetuate the notion that the majority of children killed was due to accidents related to the presence of guns and lax gun laws. Of the 1,300 children and teenagers killed by firearms, however, 53% were classified as homicides (largely a gang problem), 38% were suicides and 3% were due to the action of law enforcement intervention. In other words, very few children, either young or teenage, are killed by gun accidents. The vast majority of gun deaths of young children and teenagers are due to intentional criminal acts. Ignoring these facts, the Post suggests that more laws are needed to prevent children from gaining access to guns in the home.

Finally, while 1,300 children killed annually by guns is unquestionably a tragedy and an outrage, nearly a million children are aborted every year, and yet leftists defend that slaughter as a “right.”