Sadly, gun violence continues to be a plague in America. The statistics are shocking. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2022, there were more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths in the United States according to provisional mortality data – that’s about 132 people dying from a firearm-related injury each day. More than half of firearm-related deaths were suicides and more than 4 out of every 10 were firearm homicides.
More people suffer nonfatal firearm-related injuries than die. More than seven out of every 10 medically treated firearm injuries are from firearm-related assaults. Nearly 2 out of every 10 are from unintentional firearm injuries. There are few intentionally self-inflicted firearm-related injuries seen in hospital emergency departments. Most people who use a firearm in a suicide attempt, die from their injury.”
The societal costs are a staggering $174 billion per year for medical and mental healthcare, criminal justice costs, and wage losses, not to mention the intangibles—pain, suffering, and damaged quality of life, according to a recent study by the Children’s Safety Network. According to the CDC, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. firearm homicide rate increased by nearly 35%, and the firearm suicide rate remained high during 2019–2020. Provisional mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System indicate that rates continued to increase in 2021: the rates of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in 2021 were the highest recorded since 1993 and 1990, respectively. Firearm injuries treated in emergency departments (EDs), the primary setting for the immediate medical treatment of such injuries, gradually increased during 2018–2019.
Compared to other developed nations we are an outlier. The United States has an estimated 644 million civilian-owned guns even though the U. S. has only an estimated 320 million people which is 4.4% of the world’s population, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. We have 29.6 gun homicides per million compared to 5.1 in Canada, 1.9 in Germany, and 1.4 in Australia, according to the United Nations Development Programs Human Development Index.
A total of 754 people were killed and 2,443 other people were injured in 604 mass shootings in the U. S. in 2023. Four or more people killed or injured is the definition of a mass shooting.
There is a reasonable approach to reducing gun violence.
About the same number of Americans currently die in auto accidents. But the number of auto deaths was escalating rapidly years ago and would be much higher if many of the safety measures we now take for granted were not put in place. Today, we don’t even think about buckling up, having airbags, placing small children in car seats with five-point restraints, or having appropriate bumpers and telescoping steering columns. Our highways are built for safety with collapsible bumper rails and other guards to lessen the impact of crashes.
The executive director of the American Public Health Association, Dr. Georges Benjamin, says, “We’ve been very successful bringing down death and disability from cars. We can do exactly the same things for firearms.”
Easy access to guns and ammunition that can be used for mass slaughter has no place in civilian life. The proliferation of guns that are poorly designed, improperly cared for, or serve no useful social or sporting purpose should be stopped. That’s a point of view recently expressed by the editor of Modern Healthcare after the San Bernardino, Calif., Colorado Springs, Colo., Roseburg, Ore., Charleston, S. C., Watertown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., and Blacksburg, Va. mass shootings.
Eight professional groups—ranging from the American Academy of Family Physicians to the American Bar Association—have demanded more extensive firearm regulations as a first step toward reducing gun violence in our society. These organizations called for extending background checks on the purchase of firearms at gun shows and individual transfers, banning individual ownership of assault weapons and their high-volume ammunition magazines, and ending gag laws that prevent physicians from discussing gun safety with patients.
How can our nation move forward? By understanding gun-violence reduction rather than being emotionally polarized every time there is another mass shooting, tragic suicide, or child accidentally hurting themselves or a playmate with a firearm.
We can still respect individual rights and have a safer society. America has faced tougher challenges and has been successful. Polarization won’t cure the problem of gun violence. A rational and collaborative approach would help.
