Gun statistics? anyone?

**stiffy** · 05-31-2004, 08:49 PM

FACT: With less guns... less people kill themselves. A gun makes carrying out this decision very very easy, and leaves no time to think about it. All of the discussion in this forum about the corellations of guns to crime outshadows the correlation of guns with suicide.

In 1998, 30,708 people in the United States died from firearm-related deaths - 12,102 (39%) of those were murdered; 17,424 (57%) were suicides; 866 (3%) were accidents; and in 316 (1%) the intent was unknown. In comparison, 33,651 Americans were killed in the Korean War and 58,193 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War.

For every firearm fatality in the United States, there are two non-fatal firearm injuries.

In 1996, handguns were used to murder 2 people in New Zealand, 15 in Japan, 30 in Great Britain, 106 in Canada and 9,390 in the United States.

In 1999, there were only 154 justifiable homicides by private citizens in the United States.

In 1998, more than 10 children and teenagers, ages 19 and under, were killed with guns everyday.

In 1998, gunshot wounds were the second leading cause of injury death for men and women 10-24 years of age - second only to motor vehicle crashes.

In 1998, firearm homicide was the leading cause of death for black males ages 15-34.

From 1993 through 1997, an average of 1,409 children and teenagers took their own lives with guns each year.

Each year during 1993 through 1997, an average of 1,621 murderers who had not reached their 18th birthdays took someone's life with a gun.

For every time a gun is used in a home in a legally-justifiable shooting [note that every self-defense is legally justifiable] there are 22 criminal, unintentional, and suicide-related shootings.

The presence of a gun in the home triples the risk of homicide in the home.

The presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide fivefold.

A study of all direct and indirect costs of gun violence including medical, lost wages, and security costs estimates that gun violence costs the nation $100 billion a year.

The average total cost of one gun crime can be as high as $1.79 million, including medical treatment and the prosecution and imprisonment of the shooter.

At least 80 percent of the economic costs of treating firearm injuries are paid for by taxpayer dollars.

Rates of female homicide, suicide and unintentional firearm death are disproportionately higher in states where guns are more prevalent.

Stranger rape is not the greatest danger for women as most women (75 percent) are raped by offenders known to the victim. 60 percent of rapes are committed against victims under the age of 18 who are forbidden by law to own a gun.

Guns are rarely used by rapists - less than 2 percent of rapes are committed with guns, while almost 70 percent are committed with personal weapons (physical violence). Women would be safer knowing self-defense to fight off an attacker than using a gun which can easily be turned against them.

Every day in the U.S., 77 people die from gun violence, including 16,586 completed suicides; 10,801 homicides; and 776 unintentional shootings.

A gun kept in the home is 22 times more likely to be used in an unintentional shooting (4 times), a criminal assault or homicide (7 times), or an attempted or completed suicide (11 times) than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense.

40-43% percent of households own guns. This means that an approximately 44 million Americans own an estimated 192 million firearms.

One out of three handguns is kept loaded and unlocked.

Nearly all childhood unintentional shooting deaths occur in or around the home. Fifty percent occur in the home, and 40% occur in the home of a friend.

When someone is home, a gun is used for protection in fewer than two percent of home invasion crimes.6

All taken from the Brady Campaign website.

**stiffy** · 06-01-2004, 08:45 AM

Anyone still care to argue that the advantages of an armed society outweigh the advantages of one that isn't armed?

What about the suicide? Stats prove that with less guns, less people do it.

**EricOKC** · 06-01-2004, 09:22 AM