|
Gun Violence Nationwide
- Firearm injuries are the second leading cause of
injury-related deaths nationwide, surpassed only by motor vehicle
injuries.1
- In 2006, 30,896 Americans were killed with firearms – in
homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings.2
- In 2007, 69,863 Americans were treated in hospital emergency
departments for non-fatal gunshot wounds. The rate of individuals
hospitalized for non-fatal gunshot wounds increased by 5% from 2001 to
2007.3
- Children and young people ages 0- 25 constituted 44% of all firearm
deaths and injuries in 2006.4
- On average, 23 children and young people ages 0-25 are killed by guns
in the U.S. every day.5
- In 2007, 35% of teens nationwide reported that they knew someone who
had been shot.6
- Last year, 56% of teens nationwide reported that they believe the
government wouldn’t care if they were a victim of gun violence.7
- The overall firearm-related death rate among U.S. children
under age 15 is nearly 12 times higher than it is in 25 other
industrialized nations combined.8
- In 2006, African Americans made up 13% of the U.S. population
but suffered from 27% of all firearm deaths and 56% of all firearm
homicides.9
- Firearm homicide was the leading cause of injury-related death
for African Americans ages 15-34 in 2006.10
- White males, accounted for about 40% of the U.S. population and 80% of firearm suicides in 2006.11
- Once all the direct and indirect medical, legal and societal
costs are factored together, the annual cost of gun violence in America
amounts to $100 billion.12
- States with higher rates of household gun ownership have
significantly higher homicide victimization rates for men, women and
children.13
- Homicides and aggravated assault with a firearm both increased
by 10% from 2004 to 2006.14
1
National Center for Injury Prevention and
Control, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS),
Leading Causes of Death Reports, 1999-2006.
2
Id.
3 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)
Nonfatal Injury Reports, 2000-2007.
4
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
Web-based Injury
Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Injury Mortality
Reports, 1999-2006;
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)
Nonfatal Injury Reports, 2000-2007.
5 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
Web-based Injury
Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Injury Mortality
Reports, 1999-2006.
6
UCAN Teen Gun Survey Results, 2005-2007 Comparison.
7
Id.
8 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention,
Rates of
Homicide, Suicide, and Firearm-Related Death Among Children--26
Industrialized Countries,
MMWR Weekly, Vol. 46, No.5, Feb. 7, 1997.
9
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
Web-based Injury
Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Injury Mortality
Reports, 1999-2006.
10
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention,
Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System, Leading
Causes of Death Reports, 1999-2006 .
11 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
Web-based Injury
Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Injury Mortality
Reports, 1999-2006.
12
Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig, Gun Violence: The Real Costs,
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, 115.
13 Matthew Miller, David Hemenway, and Deborah Azrael, State-level
homicide victimization rates in the U.S. in relation to survey
measures of household firearm ownership, 2001 -2003, Social
Science & Medicine 64 (2007) 656-664.
14 Police Executive Research Forum,
Violent Crime in
America: 24 Months of Alarming Trends,
March 2007 |
|
