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Gun Violence Statistics
http://smartgunlaws.org/category/gun-studies-statistics/gun-violence-statistics/The United States experiences epidemic levels of gun violence, claiming over 30,000 lives annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For every person who dies from a gunshot wound, two others are wounded. Every year, approximately 100,000 Americans are victims of gun violence. In addition to those who are killed or injured, there are countless others whose lives are forever changed by the deaths of and injuries to their loved ones.
Gun violence touches every segment of our society. It increases the probability of deaths in incidents of domestic violence, raises the likelihood of fatalities by those who intend to injure others and among those who attempt suicide, places children and young people at special risk, and disproportionately affects communities of color.
Mass shooting tragedies like the school shootings at Virginia Tech in April 2007 and Northern Illinois University in February 2008 – or the 1993 office shooting in San Francisco that led to the formation of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence – receive significant media attention. However, gun deaths and injuries in the U.S. usually occur quietly, without national press coverage, every day.
Just a few statistical highlights:
* In 2010,guns took the lives of 31,076 Americans in homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. This is the equivalent of more than 85 deaths each day and more than three deaths each hour.
* Guns were used in 11,078 homicides in the U.S. in 2010, comprising almost 35% of all gun deaths, and over 68% of all homicides.
* Regions and states with higher rates of gun ownership have significantly higher rates of homicide than states with lower rates of gun ownership.
* The risk of suicide increases in homes where guns are kept loaded and/or unlocked.
* In the United States, over 1.69 million kids age 18 and under are living in households with loaded and unlocked firearms.
* Abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if the abuser owns a firearm.
* 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.
Click on the link for more statistics and information.
Gun violence touches every segment of our society. It increases the probability of deaths in incidents of domestic violence, raises the likelihood of fatalities by those who intend to injure others and among those who attempt suicide, places children and young people at special risk, and disproportionately affects communities of color.
Mass shooting tragedies like the school shootings at Virginia Tech in April 2007 and Northern Illinois University in February 2008 – or the 1993 office shooting in San Francisco that led to the formation of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence – receive significant media attention. However, gun deaths and injuries in the U.S. usually occur quietly, without national press coverage, every day.
Just a few statistical highlights:
* In 2010,guns took the lives of 31,076 Americans in homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. This is the equivalent of more than 85 deaths each day and more than three deaths each hour.
* Guns were used in 11,078 homicides in the U.S. in 2010, comprising almost 35% of all gun deaths, and over 68% of all homicides.
* Regions and states with higher rates of gun ownership have significantly higher rates of homicide than states with lower rates of gun ownership.
* The risk of suicide increases in homes where guns are kept loaded and/or unlocked.
* In the United States, over 1.69 million kids age 18 and under are living in households with loaded and unlocked firearms.
* Abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if the abuser owns a firearm.
* 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.
Click on the link for more statistics and information.
The NRA, and their apologists, claim that these statistics are "insignificant" and are not cause for the enactment of sensible gun control legislation and regulation. They counter any and all calls for sane steps to reduce gun violence with false cries of, "the Democrats want to take my guns," which is the NRA's main fear-inducing marketing tactic and is repeated by the right-wing gun lobby continuously.
Take action today, and make your Liberal Democratic voice be heard. Support a gun control organization of your choice, and insist that your local, state, and federal political representatives support sensible gun control measures.
7 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
just my lame try at "irony" here...sorry, I didn't mean it. I'm just so tired of all these whiners whose standard response is always "no can do" when it comes to regulating guns.
Which they hasten to add, they want to regulate "sensibly" too, but of course, sadly (sniffle) that never happens...I'm sick of them and their caterwauling and sorry ass excuses...buncha babies and jerks...
and come up with an entertaining new "excuse." They certainly aren't fooling anyone with their garbage...
