The Truth About gun Violence in America

The Truth About Gun Violence in America

Each year thirty-six thousand Americans are killed by guns, which is an average of 100 per day. Over the past decade, gun violence in the United States has increased. Since 2012, there have been at least 2,240 mass shootings in the United States. In 2017, deaths by gun violence had reached its highest with 39,773 deaths that year. There have to be stricter laws on owning and operating guns because homicides and assaults kill thousands each year, suicide is the leading cause of gun deaths, and there are too many unnecessary gun injuries and deaths.

Homicides and assaults kill and injure thousands each year. One-third of fatalities caused by gun violence is due to homicide. Some of the greatest gun homicides are school shootings. One of the most famous school shootings in the United States occurred on April 20, 1999, when two

Outside Columbine High School. 

students named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed twelve students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado. In the past couple of years, there have been many more school shootings including Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The United States gun homicide rate is twenty-five times higher than in other high-income countries. An average of 12,830 people dies every year due to homicide. The United States has a much higher gun ownership rate than other countries. This could be one of the main reasons why the United States gun homicide rate is much higher than in other countries. Gun homicides are mainly concentrated in cities and most prevalent in racially segregated neighborhoods with high rates of poverty. A majority of homicide victims are black Americans and they are ten times more likely to be killed by gun homicide than white Americans. In the article, Gun Violence in America, it states, "Firearms are the second leading cause of death for American children and teens and the first leading cause of death for Black children and teens." The United States also has a large number of gun assault injuries. Three-fourths of nonfatal gun injuries due to gun violence is caused by assaults. There are at least 76,258 assault injuries per year due to gun violence. Black males are fifteen times more likely to be shot and injured in assaults involving guns than white males. An average of one million women alive today have been shot or shot at by an intimate partner and about 4.5 million women alive today have been threatened with a gun by an intimate partner. 

Suicide is the leading cause of death by gun violence in the United States. Two-thirds of gun deaths are suicides and more than half of suicides in America involve a gun. At least eighty five percent of gun suicides end in death and access to a gun increases the risk of death by suicide by three times. The rate of suicides caused by guns is higher in states with high rates of gun ownership.

Number of Suicides in America

This puts more people at risk of committing suicide with a gun. Children with mental health and substance abuse disorders are at high risk of committing suicide with a firearm. Especially if a parent owns a gun and keeps it unlocked and loaded where a child could reach it. Over the last ten years, America’s gun suicide rate has risen steadily. In the article, Reducing Youth Firearm Suicide Risk: Evidence for Opportunities, it states, "Youth suicide rates between 1999 and 2014 have tripled for 10- to 14-year-olds and increased by fifty percent for 15- to 24-year-old youth." At least seventy-four percent of white males are firearm suicide victims in America. This is an alarmingly high percentage and it is slowly increasing.  

There are too many unnecessary deaths and injuries due to gun violence. There are at least 487 unintentional deaths and 18,362 unintentional injuries per year because of gun violence. A majority of unintentional shooting deaths involve people under twenty-four and are often shot by someone else that is their age. On the website, Gun Violence Statistics, it states, "Older adults are at a far lower risk of unintentional firearm death, and the majority of such deaths in adults are self-inflicted." There is also an average of 4.6 million children who live in homes where guns are unlocked and loaded.

Amount of people that are killed every day by gun v

This increases the risk of and unintentional death or injury by a lot and can cause serious damage. Another factor of unintentional deaths and injuries by gun violence is reckless behavior. It is most often seen by teens who want to show off to there friends. A teenager could have a parent that owns a gun or they own their guns, but they do not know how to operate it. This could cause serious damage and the teen could end up injuring or killing themselves or a friend. Teens feel the need to show off to their friends so that they can feel like they fit in or are cool. This could lead to some serious problems with teens that have guns present in their households. 

America needs to have stricter laws on gun violence. Assaults with guns are the leading cause of injuries per year and homicides with guns make up a great number of deaths too. Suicide is the leading cause of gun deaths in the United States. Finally, over 18,800 deaths and injuries are caused by the misuse of firearms. The United States should put in stricter laws that tell people that they can only own guns after a certain age. These laws should also say that all guns must be kept locked away and unlocked.

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"Reducing Youth Firearm Suicide Risk: Evidence ... - Pediatrics." https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/141/3/e20173884. Accessed 22 Oct. 2019.

Columbine High School- "Colorado School District Won't Tear Down Columbine High ...." 24 Jul. 2019, https://www.voanews.com/usa/colorado-school-district-wont-tear-down-columbine-high-school. Accessed 27 Oct. 2019.