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Gun Violence in Illinois
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From 1999 to 2005 guns killed 8,018 Illinois residents.1
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In 2005, 1,019 people died from firearm-related injuries
in Illinois, 569 of which were homicides.2,
3
- In 2005, African Americans were victims in 42% or
429 of firearm-related deaths in Illinois. Of these deaths, 90% were
homicides.
4
- In 2005, guns were used in 424 suicides in
Illinois, a 10% increase from 2004. 81% of these suicides were
committed by white males.5
- In Illinois, from 1999-2005, 37 children and youth
in Illinois died from unintentional gunshot wounds.6
- In 2005, 130 children aged 0-19 in Illinois were
killed by guns, 13% more deaths than 2004. From 1999 to 2005, 1,039
children have been killed by guns in Illinois.7
- The 2005 Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (grades 9-12) found that 5% of
Chicago high school students reported having carried a gun in the last
30 days.8
From 2002 to 2006, 687 Chicago youth were killed by guns.9
In 2005, 92% of Chicago youth killed by firearms involved
handguns.10
In 2005, firearms were the primary weapon used in violent
deaths in Kane, Cook, and Peoria counties. Firearms account for more
violent deaths than all other means combined.11
In 2005, 71% (435) of homicides and 36% (164) of suicides
were committed with firearms in Kane, Cook, and Peoria counties.12
Firearms were used as a weapon in 10 out of 14
murder-suicide incidents in Kane, Cook, and Peoria counties in 2005,
or 70% of the time. Children witnessed or were present at eight of
the 14 murder-suicide incidents, or 57% of the time.13
Gun Violence Nationwide
Firearm injuries are the second leading cause of
injury-related deaths nationwide, surpassed only by motor vehicle
injuries.14
In 2005, 30,694 Americans were killed with firearms –
in homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. The number of gun
deaths has increased by 6% since 1999.15
In 2005, 69,825 Americans were treated in hospital
emergency departments for non-fatal gunshot wounds.16
Children and young people under the age of 25
constituted over 40% of all firearm deaths and injuries in 2001.17
Every day in the U.S., guns cause the deaths of 20
children and young people under the age of 25.18
In 2007, 35% of teens nationwide reported that they
knew someone who had been shot.19
Last year, 56% of teens nationwide reported that they
believe the government wouldn’t care if they were a victim of gun
violence20
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.21
African Americans make up 13% of the U.S. population,22but
in 2001 suffered almost 25% of all firearm deaths – and 52% of all
firearm homicides.23
Firearm homicide is the leading cause of
injury-related death for African Americans ages 15-34.24
White males, accounted for about 40% of the U.S.
population,25
and 80% of firearm suicides in 2001.26
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.27
States with higher rates of household gun ownership
have significantly higher homicide victimization rates for men, women
and children.28
Homicides and aggravated assault with a firearm both
increased by 10% from 2004 to 2006.29
1
2005 is the most recent year for which state-level data is available
on 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, 1999-2005
2 Id.
3 Id.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Youth Risk
Behavior Surveillance – United States 2005, MMWR 2006; Vol. 55,No. SS05, Table 7
9
Illinois Violent Death Reporting System, “Issue Brief: Chicago Youth
and Violence.” January 2008.
10 Id.
11
Illinois Violent Death
Reporting System (IDVRS), Volume 1, Issue 1 – August 2007.
Children’s Memorial Research Center.
12 Id.
13
Id.
14
National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention,
National Vital Statistics Reports, Deaths: Final Data for 2003, Vol.
54, No. 13, p. 10, April 19, 2006
15
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, 1999-2005
16
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
17
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, 1999-2005; 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
18
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, 1999-2005
19UCAN
Teen Gun Survey Results, 2005-2007 Comparison.
20 Id.
21
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
22
Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce,
The Black Population: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, Aug. 200
23
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, 1999-2005
24
Id.
25Census
Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce,
The White Population: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, Aug. 2001 at 3
26
Id.
27
Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig, Gun Violence: The Real Costs,
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, 115.
28
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.
29
Police Executive Research Forum,
Violent Crime in America: 24 Months of Alarming Trends,
March 2007 |
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