Sobering Statistics
America and its guns
* There are nearly 200 million privately owned firearms in the US
* In 2004, there were nearly 11,000 homicides involving guns, according to the FBI
* Total number of victims from firearm incidents was 477,000 in 2005
* A British citizen is 50 times less likely to be a victim of gun homicide than an American
* One third of firearms are handguns
* 16 children and teenagers are killed by gun accidents in the US each day
* Guns that are kept for self defense are 43 times more likely to be used to kill a friend or family member
* Possessing a household gun increases the chance of suicide by five times.
* Guns are used five times more often for self defense than for crime
* 24 per cent of people who draw their guns actually fire them
* 5,000 gun shows are held per year across the United States
* The number of gunshot wounds from assaults treated in hospital emergency departments in America fell from 64,100 in 1993 to 39,400 in 1997, a 39 per cent decline
www.independent.co.uk
Roughly 29,000 people are killed by firearms every year - 10 times as many as died on September 11, 2001. Of the victims, some 11,000 are murdered, 17,000 use a gun to commit suicide, and almost 1,000 die in accidents.
www.BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
Children and Gun Violence
In a single year, 3,012 children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States, according to the latest national data released in 2002. That is one child every three hours; eight children every day; and more than 50 children every week. And every year, at least 4 to 5 times as many kids and teens suffer from non-fatal firearm injuries. (Children's Defense Fund and National Center for Health Statistics)
Between 1979 and 2001, gunfire killed 90,000 children and teens in America. (Children's Defense Fund and National Center for Health Statistics)
In one year, more children and teens died from gunfire than from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, and HIV/AIDS combined. (Children's Defense Fund)
The rate of firearm deaths among kids under age 15 is almost 12 times higher in the United States than in 25 other industrialized countries combined. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
* There are nearly 200 million privately owned firearms in the US
* In 2004, there were nearly 11,000 homicides involving guns, according to the FBI
* Total number of victims from firearm incidents was 477,000 in 2005
* A British citizen is 50 times less likely to be a victim of gun homicide than an American
* One third of firearms are handguns
* 16 children and teenagers are killed by gun accidents in the US each day
* Guns that are kept for self defense are 43 times more likely to be used to kill a friend or family member
* Possessing a household gun increases the chance of suicide by five times.
* Guns are used five times more often for self defense than for crime
* 24 per cent of people who draw their guns actually fire them
* 5,000 gun shows are held per year across the United States
* The number of gunshot wounds from assaults treated in hospital emergency departments in America fell from 64,100 in 1993 to 39,400 in 1997, a 39 per cent decline
www.independent.co.uk
Roughly 29,000 people are killed by firearms every year - 10 times as many as died on September 11, 2001. Of the victims, some 11,000 are murdered, 17,000 use a gun to commit suicide, and almost 1,000 die in accidents.
www.BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
Children and Gun Violence
In a single year, 3,012 children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States, according to the latest national data released in 2002. That is one child every three hours; eight children every day; and more than 50 children every week. And every year, at least 4 to 5 times as many kids and teens suffer from non-fatal firearm injuries. (Children's Defense Fund and National Center for Health Statistics)
Between 1979 and 2001, gunfire killed 90,000 children and teens in America. (Children's Defense Fund and National Center for Health Statistics)
In one year, more children and teens died from gunfire than from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, and HIV/AIDS combined. (Children's Defense Fund)
The rate of firearm deaths among kids under age 15 is almost 12 times higher in the United States than in 25 other industrialized countries combined. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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