Deaths Caused by Legal Guns

Outside of the exam room, primary care physicians can help prevent suicide and intentional injuries and deaths by advocating for funding for gun violence research and gun control legislation at the municipal, state, and federal levels. To better understand gun violence and possible solutions, it is important that the U.S. Congress implement research funds to develop evidence-based strategies to combat and prevent gun violence. The year 2020 also saw a record number of arms sales. The report cites research that found that nearly twice as many of these new weapons appeared at crime scenes in 2020 as in 2019. The report revealed major differences between states. The states with the highest gun death rates in 2020 were rural states in the south or west. Mississippi had the highest rate of gun deaths in 2020: 28.63 per 100,000 deaths, followed by Louisiana with 26.26 per 100,000 and Wyoming with 25.9 per 100,000. Conversely, Hawaii had the lowest gun death rate: 3.37 per 100,000, followed by Massachusetts with 3.74 per 100,000 deaths and New Jersey with 5.03 per 100,000. Restricting the purchase of firearms for those convicted of domestic violence or a preliminary injunction related to domestic violence is an effective way to prevent homicides related to domestic violence.24 States with pre-purchase injunction review systems have an 8-19% reduction in all spousal violence-related homicides and a 9-25% reduction in the rate of homicides per domestic violence with a firearm.25% Security measures must apply to all purchases to be effective. Currently, federal law only requires background checks for the purchase of firearms from licensed dealers.19 Firearms purchased through unlicensed sellers and at gun shows, commonly referred to as a “gun show loophole,” do not require background checks that allow individuals with a history of domestic violence to have unfettered access to firearms.

States that required universal background checks for the sale of handguns from all sources saw a 47% decrease in the number of victims of domestic violence-related firearm homicides.26 Although they tended to attract less public attention than firearm-related murders, suicides have long accounted for the majority of gun deaths in the United States. In 2020, 54 percent of all gun-related deaths in the United States were suicides (24,292), while 43 percent were homicides (19,384), according to the CDC. The remaining firearm-related deaths this year were involuntary (535), involved law enforcement (611), or had undetermined circumstances (400). “While gun violence affects people from all walks of life, the burden is not evenly distributed across the United States. As detailed in the report, gun violence varies widely by state and demographic,” said Ari Davis, MPP, policy advisor at Bloomberg School`s Center for Gun Violence Solutions and lead author of the report. Policymakers who want to take action can contact states with fewer gun-related deaths and enforce these evidence-based strategies such as purchase permits and gun withdrawal laws. A number of States have also gone so far as to largely lift restrictions on who can carry a weapon. In June 2021, for example, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a “Wearing Without a License Bill” that allows residents of the state to carry handguns without a license or training.

According to statistics recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more Americans died from gun-related injuries in 2020 than any other year since records began. These included a record number of gun murders as well as an almost record number of gun suicides. Despite the increase in these deaths, the rate of gun deaths – a statistic responsible for the country`s population growth – remains below the level of previous years. Although it is difficult to calculate the number of private firearms in the world, figures from the Small Arms Survey – a leading research project based in Switzerland – estimate that there were 390 million weapons in circulation in 2018. o The presence of weapons in the household increases the risk of a woman dying as a result of domestic violence-related homicide eightfold.9 An example of such a system with data to investigate a public health problem is research on road traffic accidents. The number of deaths caused by road accidents is comparable to gun violence, but the number of deaths from motor vehicles has decreased significantly over the past decade despite the increase in the number of drivers on the road. Extensive research has improved motor vehicle safety through several evidence-based interventions that have helped reduce mortality. The implementation of vehicle safety features, stricter enforcement of traffic laws and public awareness campaigns have been effective in addressing the high morbidity and mortality associated with motor vehicles. From 2004 to 2014, after the assault ban expired, the number of deaths due to gun massacres during the ban (89) more than tripled (302).

In addition, the number of gun massacres during the ban (12) nearly tripled over the same 10-year period (34).30 Here`s a more in-depth look at gun deaths in the United States, based on an analysis by the Pew Research Center of data from the CDC, FBI, and other sources. You can also read the main public opinion findings on gun violence and U.S. gun policy in our latest summary. Reducing the availability of firearms is one of the most effective mechanisms for suicide prevention. Safe storage of firearms reduces immediate access to firearms, especially for children.19 The Prevention of Child Access (CAP) laws are designed to protect children by prosecuting adults who intentionally or negligently create situations in which children have dangerous and negligent access to firearms.19 More than one million Americans have been shot in the past decade. and gun violence rates are rising across the country.6In 2017, gun deaths reached their highest level in at least 40 years, with 39,773 deaths this year alone.7 Ways to prevent A proven strategy to protect women from domestic violence-related homicides includes reducing the availability of firearms. The AAFP recommends screening all women of childbearing age for domestic violence and referring women who test positive for domestic violence to intervention services.8 One step general practitioners can take after a positive assessment of domestic violence is to refer patients to organizations that have resources for crisis intervention and counselling and to find safe housing. and medical care.

and Legal Advocacy.11 In 2020, the latest year for which full data is available, 45,222 people died from gunshot wounds in the United States, according to the CDC. This figure includes firearm homicides and firearm suicides, as well as three other less common types of firearm-related deaths prosecuted by the CDC: those that were unintentional, those that involved law enforcement, and those whose circumstances could not be determined. The total excludes deaths in which gunshot wounds played a contributing but not major role.