What CONS and gun nuts won't acknowledge is that with rights come responsibilities, therefore only responsible people should own guns. With over 32,000+ gun deaths each year and many more accidental shooting and assaults it is quite clear that there are a lot of people who are not qualified to have guns. A responsible society balances the rights of citizens to own killing machines with the rights of people not to become victims of those killing machines. The victims of the Sandy Hook massacre certainly had their rights violated.
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| Link:Wayne LaPierre Draft Dodger |
FACT TIME!
There are 32,000+ gun deaths per year in the US. LINK
In 2010 there were 32,885 auto mobile related deaths. http://en.wikipedia....in_U.S._by_year
Motor vehicle deaths vs gun deaths in 2011: Source CDC
Motor vehicle traffic deaths
Number of deaths: 33,687
Deaths per 100,000 population: 10.9
All firearm deaths
Number of deaths: 31,672
Deaths per 100,000 population: 10.3 Source CDC
In 2010, guns took the lives of 31,076 Americans in homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. This is the equivalent of more than 85 deaths each day and more than three deaths each hour.1
73,505 Americans were treated in hospital emergency departments for non-fatal gunshot wounds in 2010.2
Firearms were the third-leading cause of injury-related deaths nationwide in 2010, following poisoning and motor vehicle accidents.3
Between 1955 and 1975, the Vietnam War killed over 58,000 American soldiers – less than the number of civilians killed with guns in the U.S. in an average two-year period.4
In the first seven years of the U.S.-Iraq War, over 4,400 American soldiers were killed. Almost as many civilians are killed with guns in the U.S., however, every seven weeks.5
Homicide
Guns were used in 11,078 homicides in the U.S. in 2010, comprising almost 35% of all gun deaths, and over 68% of all homicides.6
On average, 33 gun homicides were committed each day for the years 2005-2010.7
Regions and states with higher rates of gun ownership have significantly higher rates of homicide than states with lower rates of gun ownership.8
Where guns are prevalent, there are significantly more homicides, particularly gun homicides.9
Suicide
Firearms were used in 19,392 suicides in the U.S. in 2010, constituting almost 62% of all gun deaths.10
Over 50% of all suicides are committed with a firearm.11
On average, 49 gun suicides were committed each day for the years 2005-2010.12
White males, about 40% of the U.S. population, accounted for over 80% of firearm suicides in 2010.13
A study of California handgun purchasers found that in the first year after the purchase of a handgun, suicide was the leading cause of death among the purchasers.14
Firearms were used in nearly 44% of suicide deaths among persons under age 25 in 2010.15
More than 75% of guns used in suicide attempts and unintentional injuries of 0-19 year-olds were stored in the residence of the victim, a relative, or a friend.16
The risk of suicide increases in homes where guns are kept loaded and/or unlocked.17
Unintentional Deaths and Injuries
In 2010, unintentional firearm injuries caused the deaths of 606 people.18
From 2005-2010, almost 3,800 people in the U.S. died from unintentional shootings.19
Over 1,300 victims of unintentional shootings for the period 2005–2010 were under 25 years of age.20
People of all age groups are significantly more likely to die from unintentional firearm injuries when they live in states with more guns, relative to states with fewer guns. On average, states with the highest gun levels had nine times the rate of unintentional firearms deaths compared to states with the lowest gun levels.21
A federal government study of unintentional shootings found that 8% of such shooting deaths resulted from shots fired by children under the age of six.22
The U.S. General Accounting Office has estimated that 31% of unintentional deaths caused by firearms might be prevented by the addition of two devices: a child-proof safety lock (8%) and a loading indicator (23%).23
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| Shooting sprees are not rare in the United States. Mother Jones has tracked and mapped every shooting spree in the last three decades. “Since 1982, there have been at least 61 mass murders carried out with firearms across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii,” they found. And in most cases, the killers had obtained their weapons legally: Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/14/nine-facts-about-guns-and-mass-shootings-in-the-united-states/ |
