Some Facts On Handgun & Firearm Violence

“Guns in the home are the primary source of firearms that teenagers use to kill themselves in the U.S.”

StopHandgunViolence.com:

5 children were killed every day in gun related accidents and suicides committed with a firearm, from 1994-1998. An average of 5 children were killed every day in gun related accidents and suicides committed with a firearm, from 1994-1998. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, National Injury Mortality Statistics, 1994-1998

40% of American households with children have guns. Peter Hart Research Associates Poll, July 1999 22 million children live in homes with at least one firearm. 34% of children in the United States (representing more than 22 million children in 11 million homes) live in homes with at least one firearm. In 69 percent of homes with firearms and children, more than one firearm is present. The RAND Corporation, "Guns in the Family: Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," March 2001, an analysis of the 1994 National Health Interview Survey and Year 2000 objectives supplement. Also published as Schuster et al., "Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," American Journal of Public Health 90(4): 588-594, April 2000

A gun in the home is 22 times more likely to be used in an unintentional shooting, a criminal assault or homicide, or an attempted or completed suicide than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense. Journal of Trauma, 1998

NewYorkTimes.com:

In 1992, handguns were used in the murders of 33 people in Britain, 36 in Sweden, 97 in Switzerland, 128 in Canada, 13 in Australia, 60 in Japan and 13,220 in the United States. Those are the latest annual statistics available. They were released yesterday by Handgun Control Inc. and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.

Here is some other information about guns and violence in America: In 1991 -- just one year -- 38,317 people were killed by firearms in homicides, suicides and accidents. That's more than 100 people a day. It's also more than the total number of Americans killed in battle in the Korean War.

A new handgun is produced every 20 seconds.

WashingtonCeaseFire.org:

Who is a Victim of Firearm Violence?

Firearm Victims By Race

White

Fatalities: 21,442 / Rate: 8.79 / 100,000

Injuries: 16,110 / Rate: 8.06 / 100,000

African-American

Fatalities: 7,448 / Rate: 18.30/100,000

Injuries: 29,951 / Rate: 69.85 / 100,000

Hispanic

Fatalities: 3,278 / Rate: 7.46 / 100,000

Injuries: 9,694 / Rate: 24.45 / 100,000

Asian/Pacific-Islander

Fatalities: 398 / Rate: 2.79 / 100,000

Injuries: n/a

Native American

Fatalities: 218 / Rate: 8.48 / 100,000

Injuries: n/a

Victims by Gender

Males:

Fatalities: 25,498 / Rate: 17.66 / 100,000

Injuries: 57,730 / Rate: 39.96 / 100,000

Females:

Fatalities: 4,071 / Rate: 2.73 / 100,000

Injuries: 6,557 / Rate: 4.40 / 100,000

KQED.org:

Manufacturing Every 8 seconds, a new firearm is made in America. (ATF, "Commerce in Firearms in the US", 2000 Report)

Over a twenty-five year period, from 1972 to 1997, over 59 million handguns were manufactured in the U.S.

The top 5 gun manufacturing states during that time:

1)Connecticut - 25,472,564

2) Massachusetts - 18,360,915

3) New York - 7,119,769

4) California - 6,337,544

5) Florida - 2,334,206

According to a data analysis by the Violence Prevention Center, just 3 states (top 3 listed above) accounted for 75 percent of all the domestic firearms manufactured in America during that 25 year period of time.

Also, the VPC notes that states with rigid gun control laws such as Massachusetts, California, and New York, were actually the leading makers of firearms. ((Violence Policy Center, "Firearms Production in America 1972 - 1997, A State by State Breakdown", 2000)

Did You Know?

Every hour in America, four people are killed by firearms. (Centers for Disease Control)

A gun in your home makes it three times more likely that you or someone you care about will be murdered by a family member or intimate partner (Kellerman,New England Journal of Medicine v329, n.15 1993)

Gun violence is the second-leading cause of injury-related fatalities in the US after car accidents. In Alaska, Maryland and Nevada as well as D.C., firearm death rates in 1998 exceeded those for car accidents. (CDC & Natnl. Vital Statistics Report, 1999)

One million Americans have died in firearm homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings since 1962. (Fatal Firearm Injuries in the United States 1962-1994. Violence Surveillance Summary Series, No. 3, 1997; Deaths: Final Data for 1995- 1997, National Vital Statistics Report)

State/Local Contrary to popular opinion, gun violence isn't endemic only to certain cities or neighborhoods - it can happen anywhere.