The Eddie Eagle GunSafe^® program leads the most successful child gun safety program in America, and has the potential to touch more families -- and perhaps do more good for more people -- than any other program in NRA history.

Ask the educators and law enforcement officers who teach the program or the parents whose children are now safer as a result. No matter who you talk to, Eddie Eagle wins almost universal praise. NRA staff receive scores of letters and phone calls praising the program. And the Community Service Division of the National Safety Council was so impressed that in October, 1993, it awarded Eddie's creator, NRA's former President Marion P. Hammer, with one of its highest honors: the first place national citation for outstanding community service.

At the March 2002 annual mid-winter conference, the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) formally endorsed The Eddie Eagle GunSafeProgram. Sheriff John Cary Bittick, former president of NSA, said "We are proud to partner with the National Rifle Association on this very important issue, and we would like to express our full support for this program."

Today's Gun Accident Rates Lowest On Record

And what a success the program has been! Thanks to NRA safety training, fewer children are involved in fatal firearm accidents today than did 90 years ago, and America's accidental firearm fatality rates have fallen steadily for decades. But now, with the help of Eddie Eagle, that safety record is improving faster than ever before. Since the Eddie Eagle Program's nationwide launch, the National Center for Health Statistics has indicated that the annual number of accidental firearm-related deaths among children of the program's targeted age group declined more than 80%. NRA feels that gun accident prevention programs such as Eddie Eagle are a significant factor in that decline.

The effectiveness of the program is confirmed by declining gun accidents among children, its popularity with the schoolteachers and law enforcement officers who teach it, and testimonial letters. These letters relate incidents in which children encountered guns, but, because of what they learned in the Eddie Eagle Program, they sought help from an adult and avoided injury.

Awards and Recognitions

• The National Sheriffs' Association formally endorsed the Eddie Eagle Program. (March 2002)
• A study published in theJournal of Emergency Nursing Onlinenamed Eddie Eagle the best of more than 80 gun safety programs evaluated. (October 2001)
• The program has been reviewed and recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice (through its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention). The Clinton Department of Justice reviewed more than 400 safety programs in preparing its February 1999 report, Promising Strategies to Reduce Gun Violence. Of the 400 programs reviewed, only 60 were recommended in the report. The Eddie Eagle GunSafe^®Program was one of these 60 programs, and was described as "an outstanding education initiative."
• The American Legion passed a resolution encouraging its Posts and Departments to introduce Eddie Eagle to elementary schools and law enforcement agencies in their communities. (May 1995)
• The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to The Eddie Eagle Program. (October 1995)
• The Youth Activities Division of the National Safety Council awarded its silver Award of Merit to The Eddie Eagle Program for its efforts to "promote safety and health, save lives, lessen injury and reduce economic loss." (October 1996)
• The Community Service Division of the National Safety Council presented its Citation for Outstanding Community Service Award to program creator and NRA President Marion P. Hammer. (October 1993)
• The National School Public Relations Association presented its Golden Achievement Award to the program. (April 1994)
• Recently endorsed and commended by the Association of American Educators, saying, "On behalf of the many thousands of teachers belonging to the Association of American Educators, we would like to commend the Eddie Eagle GunSafe^® Program."

Eddie Eagle program materials are available for a nominal fee. For more information on The Eddie Eagle GunSafeProgram, or to get a free brochure, call (800) 231-0752 today.