Gun Violence in America

Gun violence plagues every community in America. Gun violence does not discriminate; it is a very real problem in our cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Gun violence takes our children and spouses from us. Gun violence has high economic costs. It is our national plague. We must do more to protect our communities from the threat of gun violence. Guns Kill Kids:

• In the year 2000, 1,776 young people 19 and under were murdered with guns, 1,007 committed suicide with guns, 193 died in unintentional shootings. A full 80% of victims between the ages 13 to 19 were killed with a firearm.
• Firearms are the second-leading cause of death (after motor vehicle accidents) for young people 19 and under in the U.S.
• The rate of firearm death of under 14-years-old is nearly 12 times higher in the U.S. than in 25 other industrialized countries combined.
• Each year from 1993 to 1997, gun murders were committed by 1,621 killers under the age of 18.

Gun Violence Costs Communities:

• The average cost for treating each unintentional shooting is $22,400. The average cost for treating each gun-related injury is $18,400. Because most victims of gun violence in America are uninsured, the public ends up footing the bill for their treatment.
• According to the Annual Bill To The Nation costs of gun violence in the US have been estimated at between $100 billion and $126 billion.

Gun Violence Kills Thousands:

• To better understand the numbers --- In 1998 30,708 Americans lost their lives to gun violence. During the entire Korean War, 33,651 American were killed.
• In 1999, there were only 154 justifiable homicides by private citizens in the United States.
• For every firearm fatality in the United States, there are two non-fatal firearm injuries. Guns and Domestic Violence, a Lethal Combination:
• From 1990 to 2000, over 2/3 of the victims of spouse and ex-spouse homicide were killed by guns.
• In 1997, the presence of a gun in the home made it 7.2 times more likely that a woman would become a homicide victim by a spouse, intimate friend, or relative.

Guns Kill Police Officers:

• More than 700 police officers have died in the line of duty since 1985.
• Over 90% of those officers were killed with guns.

While guns are an important part of our history and our society, we must do more to curb the horrible costs to our society that result from them.