Gun Violence in America
Courtesy of Natalie Chaney from unsplash.
WHAT IS GUN VIOLENCE?
Gun violence is violence committed with the use of firearms, for example pistols, shotguns, assault rifles or machine guns. Gun violence brings an enormous toll on American society, tens of thousands of lives each year are torn apart.
There are many types of firearm injuries, which can be fatal or nonfatal:
Intentionally or self inflicted
suicide or nonfatal self-harm injury from a firearm
Unintentional
fatal or nonfatal injuries can happen while you are cleaning or playing with a gun or other incidents of an accidental firing of a gun without evidence of intentional harm
Interpersonal violence
firearm homicide or nonfatal assault injury from a firearm
Legal intervention
firearm injuries inflicted by the police acting in the line of duty.An example of this being firearm injuries that occur while arresting or attempting to arrest someone.
Undetermined intent
firearm injuries where there isn’t enough information to determine if the injury was intentionally self inflicted, unintentional, a legal intervention firearm death, or an act of interpersonal violence.
GUN VIOLENCE STATISTICS
In 2017 there were 221.7 million licensed drivers, and 72 million registered gun owners. In the USA, about 134,000 people were shot and injured by firearms in 2017.
Gunshot injuries are commonly life changing and have an irreversible toll on the victims mental and physical health. Some need permanent, lifelong care, and many others lose their ability to work. The toll that gun violence has on victims and family members gets little government response
Individuals can lawfully carry concealed firearms in public in every state in the USA and can lawfully and openly carry firearms in public in most states. 12 states allow people to carry concealed weapons in public without any license or permit and 30 states allow you to openly carry a handgun in public without any license or permit.
What states are the most prohibitive with gun laws, which are the most lenient?
The states with the most prohibitive with gun violence laws are California, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Illinois, Rhode Island, Washington, and Delaware
The states with the most lenient gun laws are New Hampshire, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Texas, Montana, West Virginia, Alabama, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alaska, Kansas, South Dakota, Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, Idaho, Wyoming, and Mississippi.
Open carrying firearms in public in most forms is currently legal in 45 states. In only seven states are people required to provide a credible justification. All 50 states allow for some form of concealed carrying of firearms in public.
How many people die from gun related violence worldwide?
- More than 500 people die every day from gun violence
- 44% of all homicides globally involve gun violence
- The nearly 40,000 Americans killed each year since 2016 by gun violence exceed the number of people killed by car accident
How many people are injured by gunshots worldwide?
- About 2,000 people are injured by gunshots every single day
- At least 2 million people are living with firearm injuries around the world.
MASS SHOOTING STATISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES
Mass shootings are typically defined as shootings where four or more victims are killed. In the USA, between 2009 and 2016, there were:
- 156 mass shootings
- 848 people killed and 339 injured
- Between 2013 and June 2018, there were 316 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in the USA.
- Public mass shootings make up less than 1% of gun deaths in the USA.
Nevertheless, public mass shootings have a great emotional and psychological effect on survivors, families, and communities. They have created an environment where people feel unsafe in everyday places, like churches, schools, concerts, and movie theaters. Millions of people suffer the severe and extensive psychological effects that gun violence brings to individuals, families, and their communities.
Gun violence causes much pain and agony and it needs to be handled with more care.
