Guns Kill People

As usual, the not-so-Angry-this-time Poodle’s efforts are to be appreciated. However, although this reader agrees, she wishes to further advise. You are right: The National Rifle Association’s successful effort to reduce funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has hindered the critical collection of data, which was the NRA’s goal. Gun control organizations whose focus truly is prevention are usually two years behind receiving this data. Sadly, the figures do not vary much: Around 34 homicides daily and eight children dying each day from gun violence. A 2003 study from the Annals of Emergency Medicine found that “people who keep a gun in the home are almost 2 times more likely to be murdered with a gun and almost 17 times more likely to take their own lives using a firearm.” What the study concludes is that: “nearly half of all homicides and suicides occur in the home and most victims are shot. In order to reduce the number of homicides and suicides that take place in homes in the U.S. it is important to reduce the ready availability of guns and introduce safer storage practices.”

If more guns made us safer, how is it that approximately 30,000 people die from gun violence annually? The United States has more guns, and more easily available guns, than any industrialized nation and we also have the highest rate of firearm deaths. Guns in churches, bars; and schools—are the majority of Americans OK with that? If not, it’s time to make yourself heard.