C.D. Chamberlain: Stop real lead poisoning by banning bullets

My late wife, a nurse practitioner, recalled discussing healthy habits with one of her patients. He allowed as how he drank at least a fifth of vodka every day, plus some beer. (He really didn't keep track of the beer.) Then he added brightly, "And I take one of them low-dose aspirins every day to keep from getting a heart attack."

When my wife suggested that this daily regimen might irritate his stomach, he asked, "So, you think I should quit the aspirin?"

Like many grandparents, I was alarmed by news stories not too long ago about lead-painted toys being imported from China. My grandchildren get books from us mostly, so we had managed the problem in our family. But I know all too well that lead poisoning causes serious damage to the central nervous system.

My mother grew up in Washington County, Mo. Lead was mined on the family farm. I can remember playing on the tailings from that open-pit mine. My relatives who remained on the family farm after my mother married and moved away all developed tremors — even the in-laws.

So, after reading all the news stories and watching the frightening newscasts about this terrible lead problem, I began looking for subsequent news items about children who were tragically injured or brain-damaged from all this lead exposure. Despite all the initial media hype, the hysteria seems to have passed. Meanwhile, the real source of lead poisoning, like a two-ton elephant in the room, is ignored.

Every day, nearly eight children die in this country from the lead delivered from the barrel of a gun. For every child killed, another four to five are seriously injured. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the annual cost for medical treatment of childhood gunshot injuries is about $2.3-billion. Half of this medical bill is paid with tax dollars.

All this furor about possible lead poisoning from toys, and there is relative silence about the lead that tears eight young bodies to shreds every day.

The U.S. Congress demanded that we ban all lead-painted toys from China. Apparently, gun-produced lead is non-negotiable.

Ah, yes. The Second Amendment. The Second Amendment recognizes that bearing arms is a right preserved to the people. I really don't object to people owning guns — or swords, clubs, spears, maces, halberts, or whatever. The right to bear arms must be respected. However, the Second Amendment makes no mention of munitions, gunpowder, explosives, bombs or lead bullets.

If we really cared about lead poisoning, we would insist that our legislators ban all bullets. Empty pistols could then be carried to the bar, church, school, supermarket or workplace. These delightful collector's pieces could be displayed and reverenced by all who love the reeking tube and shattered shard. But no bullets.

C.D. Chamberlain has served as a pastor, mental health administrator, lobbyist and editor. He lives in Spring Hill. Guest columnists write their own views on subjects they choose, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.

Comments on this article

by Jerry	Jun 9, 2008 1:51 PM
Mr. Chamberlain, 1) I have serious doubts about your statistics. CA studies have shown no known lead-poisionng due to ammunition. 2) Living in FL you have the unquestionable added security due to the legal CCWs. 3) The legal ones are not the problem!

by Dave	Jun 9, 2008 10:23 AM
After reading this article, I think that playing on that lead waste pile had more impact that the author thinks. Objective research and logical analysis would lead him to a much different conclusion.

by Lenny	Jun 8, 2008 12:35 PM
CD, your comments are laughable. Kids are more at risk of drowning than by being accidentally shot. Don't believe me? Look it up at the CDC. So I guess we start by banning swimming pools and docks?

by Bob	Jun 8, 2008 12:30 PM
Mr. Chamberlain, by any chance would you have had a relative named Neville?? He is the one that practically gave Europe to Adolf Hitler in the 1930's. And, now, you want to ban bullets. I think YOU need to be Baker Acted (as you are delusional).

by Rich	Jun 8, 2008 9:12 AM
Or in this case his views do reflect the opinions of the paper. Mr. Chamberlain, I hope the comments posted here show you the will of the people. Good day sir!

by CSR	Jun 8, 2008 9:07 AM
The First Amendment makes no mention of computers, the internet, television or radio. If we really cared about the truth, we would insist our legislators ban all uninformed, misleading drivel from being published - like yours, C.D. Whattya say??

by Fish	Jun 8, 2008 8:30 AM
I don't care what the bullets I may have to use in self defense are made from. Go ahead. Ban lead bullets.

by Wendy	Jun 6, 2008 8:18 PM
RE: Mr. Chamberlain's anti-gun column: As a Jewess in the US, may I remind everyone that criminals are stopped by FIREARMS, not by talk? And that America wasn't won with a registered gun? That is why all REAL Americans put our 2nd Amendment FIRST!

by Larry	Jun 6, 2008 8:16 PM
You sir are full of lies and mis-information on the child deaths by guns. Look up the true statistics from the F.B.I. files. Then print a retraction of your statements.

by NoLeadInHead	Jun 6, 2008 7:29 PM
The doc would have the lead bullet out before it could cause any lead-poisoning. Lead fishing sinkers are what really scare me.

by Al	Jun 6, 2008 7:25 PM
You, Sir, are a victim of the liberal leftist media. More people (incl. children) die of drunk drivers than by the evil gun. More die by drowning than by the gun. Damn, Man, get on the band wagon to stop drunk driving. Use your Bully Pulpit to really save lives .... by the way, do you call an armed Police Officer when YOU need help? Whoops, that Officer is carrying an evil gun also ...

by tmack	Jun 6, 2008 7:23 PM
Yes, and the first amendment makes no mention of pencils, pens, printers, phones, the internet, bullhorns, paper, ...etc. So banning those items is not in voilation of the first amendment. This guy is pathetic schmuck.

by Socom16	Jun 6, 2008 7:22 PM
19 April, 1775. Government Soldiers were dispatched to seize and destroy Militia weapons and AMMUNITION. Armed Citizens met gov?t dispatched minions on Lexington Green in opposition to the ?ban?. The rest is History that need not be repeated.

by Don	Jun 6, 2008 7:13 PM
More lies from the Brady Bunch. Chamberlain should be put away for being mentally ill.

by Crotalus	Jun 6, 2008 7:11 PM
"...Their swords, and every other terrible instrument (including powder and ball, now modern ammo, you cretin!) are the birthright of an American. The...power of their sword... is in the hands of the people." Tenche Coxe. And there it will remain!

by Joel	Jun 6, 2008 6:47 PM
My .45 is, at the moment, loaded with 99.95% copper rounds. No lead. I doubt that will reassure Mr. Chamberlain; what should reassure him is that the carrying of guns by people who, as I do, have carry permits saves lives, and doesn't endanger his.

by lincmercguy	Jun 6, 2008 1:19 PM
Your statistic of eight per day includes "children" to be anyone under 26 years old. Most gang-bangers and many criminals are probably under 25, so that's how the statistic is inflated.

by Roy	Jun 6, 2008 1:19 PM
As folks have already pointed out, the only way to get to 8 children killed a day is to really stretch the definition of children. To get there, you have to count the 19-year-old shot in a raid on a crackhouse.

by Jim	Jun 6, 2008 1:18 PM
Stupendious! No mention of bullets, what logic! The 1st doesn't mention the internet, blogs, radio, TV, or satellite. Let's restrict them too using the same strange logic. I think Mr. Chamberlain believes he's really clever in this guest column.

by Doug	Jun 6, 2008 1:00 PM
Mr. Chamberlain, thank you for your time to write the article. If you had spent half of that time alloted to verifying your facts, it might have been a good article. I am certainly glad to see the "Ban" wagon is alive and well. Good day sir...

by Lee	Jun 6, 2008 1:00 PM
More liberal one-side crap in the St. Pete Times. We get rid of bullets and we are safe from led, but shot dead by illegal bullets. Smart

by Bill	Jun 6, 2008 1:00 PM
You sir, are a moron. Thank you Richard and Joe for thoughtful comments. Let's be realistic here; guns are not the issue, it's ignorant parents. How many people were killed in car accidents? Ban cars? Morons should be banned from reproducing!

by arthur	Jun 6, 2008 12:59 PM
mental health admin.? Wow CD, I didn't know mental illness and cognitive disfunction were contagious. You are obviously suffering, get treatment.

by Uzziel	Jun 6, 2008 12:59 PM
Gee, with hand-wringing, pie-in-the-sky rhetoric such as this, I wonder if you're related to Neville Chamberlain...! -Uzziel-

by Larry	Jun 6, 2008 12:59 PM
Seven of those eight "kids" are teenage gang members. They will obtain guns even if they have to steal them from the cops. For the real children, early education in gun safety would go a long way to combat the misinformation from TV and the movies

by David	Jun 6, 2008 12:59 PM
Chamberlain thinks he is being clever by suggesting that the 2A doesn't cover the ammunition. By his reasoning, since the 1st Amendment doesn't specifically mention paper, ink, computers or the Internet Congress could ban them, too.

by Anthony	Jun 6, 2008 12:59 PM
Could Mr. Chamberlain perhaps find another outlet to be shallow and pedantic and the St. Pete Times could substitute a guest columnist that has something insightful to say, maybe even interesting?

by John	Jun 6, 2008 12:59 PM
Good idea. The coming expansion of fission power plants will create a new supply of depleted uranium, which will make better bullets anyway.

by John	Jun 6, 2008 12:58 PM
A ban on bullets will work as good as a ban on alcohol (constitutional amendment) and drugs.

by ResponsibilityIsSoOldFashioned

Jun 6, 2008 12:58 PM

"However, the Second Amendment makes no mention of munitions, gunpowder, explosives, bombs or lead bullets." Yeah, that's good thinking. Since the author desires to selectively "respect" our Bill of Rights, let's not dally with just one right - ban ink and the Internet so we can "respect" our right to free speech. I'm sure we can think of all sorts of creative ways to nullify our rights while we respect them.

by chad	Jun 6, 2008 12:58 PM
Every day, nearly eight children young gangbangers die in this country from the lead delivered from the barrel of a gun.

by bob oscar	Jun 6, 2008 12:56 PM
Advice to C.D. Chamberlain: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"....A. Lincoln

by Lee	Jun 6, 2008 12:56 PM
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and a conscientious stupidity." - Rev. Dr. M. L. King, Jr. By Dr. King's reasoning, Mr. C. D. Chamberlain qualifies as a dangerous man.

by Scott	Jun 6, 2008 12:56 PM
Thank You Joe for pointing out the fallacy in his argument about the 8 deaths a day. When compared to drownings in pools, there is no comparison. Why does this man not wish to ban pools?

by Scott	Jun 6, 2008 12:56 PM
This man does not wish to ban pools because he really is not worried about the number of child deaths. His true effort is to ban guns. The proof is in the numbers.