Suicides are at an all-time high in America. One of the best ways to reduce them is gun control
10 months ago

Suicides are at an all-time high in America. One of the best ways to reduce them is gun control

Salon  

Editors’ Note: This article discusses suicide and contains details about mental health crises. "The link between gun control policies and firearms is strikingly clear — less gun control correlates almost perfectly with higher state firearm deaths overall." "In our paper, we mostly looked at overall gun control policies and access to mental health rather than specific policies," Smith said, explaining that most states which implement gun control laws do so more with more than one, making it difficult to assess which laws have caused what specific effect. "It is also very difficult under existing law to remove a gun due to mental illness, but having stricter gun control laws generally can either prevent or delay when one has access to a gun." "If you look at overall gun deaths the link between gun control policies and firearms is strikingly clear — less gun control correlates almost perfectly with higher state firearm deaths overall," said Dr. John J. Donohue, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research who has done extensive research into gun control policy.

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History of this topic

Hunting and mass shootings: Here’s what the debate over gun ownership is missing.
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Hunting and mass shootings: Here’s what the debate over gun ownership is missing.

Slate  

Last year, on a beautiful fall day in the North Maine Woods, I sat next to my father’s friend—really, my friend, by this point in my life—looking for ruffed grouse and moose. This type of distinction is one that I’ve considered quite a bit when reflecting on the gun control/gun rights debate in the U.S., especially as hunting, as a …

Gun homicides and suicides in US children and teens are at a record high
1 year, 6 months ago

Gun homicides and suicides in US children and teens are at a record high

CNN  

CNN — Children and teens in the US are dying of gun-related homicides and suicides in record numbers, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 2,279 firearm homicides in children and teens in 2021 – double the number of deaths recorded a decade prior, according to the CDC’s WONDER database. Seventeen …

Column: California proves that stricter gun laws save lives
1 year, 9 months ago

Column: California proves that stricter gun laws save lives

LA Times  

Students call for tougher gun control laws during a rally at Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in Los Angeles on March 14, 2018. Mississippi gets an “F” from Giffords: It “has the weakest gun laws in the country and the highest gun death rate.” That’s backed up by the National Center for Health Statistics. Unless I’m missing something, the fact that …

Conservative America has far more gun deaths than liberal America, study finds
1 year, 11 months ago

Conservative America has far more gun deaths than liberal America, study finds

Salon  

A horrific recent trend of mass shootings has severely polarized Americans on the topic of firearms. Yet several recent studies have revealed the exact opposite: In regions dominated by pro-gun politicians, the number of gun deaths is far higher than in areas controlled by pro-gun control politicians. After analyzing gun violence statistics from America's different cultural regions from 2010 to …

How the gun-loving South dominates these United States
1 year, 11 months ago

How the gun-loving South dominates these United States

Raw Story  

Call me old-school, but I love reading print. But it’s not good, actually bad, to presume what Page presumes, which is this: “The findings underscore the political risks for Republicans at odds with broader public opinion on the response to a spate of mass shootings.” Does anyone think Republicans really face “political risks” for being at odds with broader public …

Gun violence in the US has become more lethal, research suggests
1 year, 11 months ago

Gun violence in the US has become more lethal, research suggests

CNN  

CNN — A record number of people are dying from firearm injuries in the US, and new research suggests that shootings are becoming more lethal, too. Nearly 49,000 people died from firearm injuries in the US in 2021, CDC data shows – an unprecedented surge of about 23% over two years during the Covid-19 pandemic. “That includes larger magazine capacity …

What You Can Do To Help End Gun Violence
2 years ago

What You Can Do To Help End Gun Violence

Huff Post  

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A view of the street while police officers close the road as they patrol around the street during inspection after a gunman's multiple shootings in Maine on October 26, 2023. “I would tell folks that the frustration, the anger, the fear that they’re feeling that their kids’ school could be next, to hold on to …

Panel: Military needs gun safety measures to limit suicides
2 years, 1 month ago

Panel: Military needs gun safety measures to limit suicides

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department should implement a series of gun safety measures to reduce suicides in the force, an independent committee recommended Friday, calling for waiting periods for the purchase of firearms and ammunition by service members on military property. The panel said the department should also raise the minimum age for service members to buy guns and ammunition …

DC Edit | End gun culture in America
2 years, 2 months ago

DC Edit | End gun culture in America

Deccan Chronicle  

By one count of the inexplicable madness of mass shootings in the United States of America, there were as many as 648 instances in 2022. Considering most, if not all, shooters are male, what gun violence points to is something sociologists are now describing as stemming from the toxic masculinity of life in America. Irrespective of the most recent bipartisan …

Gun death rate nears three-decade high, with men at most risk
2 years, 4 months ago

Gun death rate nears three-decade high, with men at most risk

Live Mint  

The rate of gun deaths in the U.S. reached a 28-year high in 2021 after sharp increases in homicides of Black men and suicides among white men, an analysis of federal data showed. Since 1990, rates of gun-related homicide have been highest among Black men aged 20 to 24, the analysis said, with 142 fatalities per 100,000 people in this …

Study: U.S. gun death rates hit highest levels in decades
2 years, 4 months ago

Study: U.S. gun death rates hit highest levels in decades

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The U.S. gun death rate last year hit its highest mark in nearly three decades, and the rate among women has been growing faster than that of men, according to study published Tuesday. There were about 7 gun deaths per 100,000 women last year, up from about 4 per 100,000 in 2010 — an increase of 71%. …

On framing gun laws
2 years, 6 months ago

On framing gun laws

The Hindu  

“Firearms and Lynching,” Michael D. Makowsky and Patrick L. Warren, August 2022, Journal of Law and Economics Gun violence is an issue that is hotly debated in countries such as the U.S. Anti-gun activists have often pointed to the killing of innocents in mass shootings in schools, malls, and other public places and called for a ban on the purchase …

US gun debate is loaded with belligerence
2 years, 7 months ago

US gun debate is loaded with belligerence

China Daily  

Americans urge against gun in the street. As of July 2022, there have been over 300 mass shootings in the United States, leaving over 300 people dead, over 1,000 injured, and many more wondering why there is such staunch resistance from politicians and pro-gun advocates to even reasonable gun regulations. Many people come from military families and they're proud to …

Essential Politics: Gun deaths dropped in California as they rose in Texas: Gun control seems to work
2 years, 10 months ago

Essential Politics: Gun deaths dropped in California as they rose in Texas: Gun control seems to work

LA Times  

Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat running against Republican Gov. A survey last year by the Pew Research Center, for example, showed that by 87% to 12%, Americans supported “preventing people with mental illnesses from purchasing guns.” By 81% to 18% they backed “making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks.” And by a smaller but still …

States with the most gun violence share one trait
2 years, 10 months ago

States with the most gun violence share one trait

CNN  

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. The advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, which endorses stronger gun laws, takes the CDC data ongun deathsper 100,000 residents and puts that alongside each state’s gun laws. Conversely, with the exception of Louisiana, the states with the highest gun death rates and highest gun ownership rates are among …

Murders with a gun SOARED by 35% in 2020 to their highest level in 25 years, new CDC report reveals
2 years, 10 months ago

Murders with a gun SOARED by 35% in 2020 to their highest level in 25 years, new CDC report reveals

Daily Mail  

Gun murders skyrocketed in the United States in 2020 and reached their highest rate since 1994, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection. The US racked up 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, as calls to defund the police were sweeping the nation, marking a nearly 35 percent increase from 2019, the CDC said in a …

US firearm homicides hit highest rate in decades in 2020: CDC
2 years, 10 months ago

US firearm homicides hit highest rate in decades in 2020: CDC

Al Jazeera  

The rate was the highest since 1994, the US public health agency says, with 79 percent of all homicides in 2020 linked to guns. Young persons, males, and Black persons consistently have the highest firearm homicide rates, and these groups experienced the largest increases in 2020,” the report said. “Firearm injury is tragically a major public health problem in the …

Editorial: Biden should make gun-violence reduction a national priority
4 years ago

Editorial: Biden should make gun-violence reduction a national priority

LA Times  

A curious thing happened last year while the nation endured a string of COVID-19 lockdowns. Since the initial COVID-19 shutdowns last March, Americans have engaged in gun-buying sprees — by existing gun owners and tens of thousands of first-time purchasers — driven by fear of social breakdown from the pandemic, the widespread anti-racism protests, and the storming of the U.S. …

First-time gun owners at risk of suicide, new study confirms
4 years, 9 months ago

First-time gun owners at risk of suicide, new study confirms

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The study, posted by the New England Journal …

Deadly shootings are rising in U.S. after steady declines
6 years, 4 months ago

Deadly shootings are rising in U.S. after steady declines

Salon  

After steadily declining for more than two decades, deadly shootings are rising across the country, according to a new government report. “It is too soon to know whether recent increases in firearm homicide rates represent a short-term fluctuation or the beginning of a longer-term trend,” the report said. The federal researchers analyzed mortality and population data from the nation’s 50 …

Gun-related homicides, suicides kill more people than war, study says
6 years, 7 months ago

Gun-related homicides, suicides kill more people than war, study says

CNN  

Story highlights An estimated 251,000 people died by gun in 2016. In 1990, there were 209,000 firearm-related deaths Gun deaths are mostly concentrated in six countries that account for less than 10% of the world's population CNN — Mass shootings and acts of terrorism may dominate headlines, but it’s the homicides and, to a lesser extent, the suicides that happen …

Sharp Increase In Gun Suicides Signals Growing Public Health Crisis
6 years, 8 months ago

Sharp Increase In Gun Suicides Signals Growing Public Health Crisis

NPR  

Sharp Increase In Gun Suicides Signals Growing Public Health Crisis Enlarge this image toggle caption Nicole Xu for NPR Nicole Xu for NPR When Dorothy Paugh was 9, her father bought a pistol and started talking openly about ending his life. "I believe we have a major public health crisis that we're not doing nearly enough about," said Jennifer Stuber, …

CDC: U.S. Suicide Rates Have Climbed Dramatically
6 years, 9 months ago

CDC: U.S. Suicide Rates Have Climbed Dramatically

NPR  

Suicide Rates Have Climbed Dramatically Loading. The report also cites the need to reduce "access to lethal means" but without explicitly discussing firearms or controversial issues such as gun control legislation. "We are concerned with all aspects of suicide prevention, including access to lethal means, and so we do include that in a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention." Sponsor Message …

40 Percent Of Kids Who Die By Suicide Use Guns. Why Do So Many Parents Leave Guns Unlocked?
7 years ago

40 Percent Of Kids Who Die By Suicide Use Guns. Why Do So Many Parents Leave Guns Unlocked?

Huff Post  

A handgun stored in a gun safe. Getty Images A common refrain among gun owners is that the culprits of gun violence aren’t responsible, legal gun owners, but criminals with illegal weapons. “Parents may really misjudge or discount their child’s underlying risk,” said Dr. Matthew Miller, study author and professor at Northeastern University, as well as an adjunct professor of …

We Need To Talk About Black Lives And Gun Violence After The Florida Shooting
7 years, 1 month ago

We Need To Talk About Black Lives And Gun Violence After The Florida Shooting

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING In the week since a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, there has been a national reckoning ― from student-led marches to wall-to-wall media coverage to White House events ― about gun violence and how to stop it. Prominent black organizers and public figures have also noted the largely positive public response …

Deaths From Gun Violence: How The U.S. Compares With The Rest Of The World
7 years, 1 month ago

Deaths From Gun Violence: How The U.S. Compares With The Rest Of The World

NPR  

Deaths From Gun Violence: How The U.S. Those countries all also enjoy low rates of gun violence, but the U.S. has the 31st highest rate in the world: 3.85 deaths due to gun violence per 100,000 people in 2016. The 2016 figures, released last fall, paint a fairly rosy picture for much of the world, with deaths due to gun …

NRATV host: People who kill themselves with guns don't count
7 years, 2 months ago

NRATV host: People who kill themselves with guns don't count

Salon  

In counting down top-three fake news stories about guns from 2017, NRATV host Grant Stinchfield asserted that suicides by firearms shouldn't be counted as "gun deaths," even though they very clearly are deaths by gun. "The final fake news of the year comes in the form of a statistic, the overused 30,000 gun deaths a year," Stinchfield said. "So 2018 …

Domestic violence homicide rate drops with stricter gun law, study finds
7 years, 6 months ago

Domestic violence homicide rate drops with stricter gun law, study finds

LA Times  

This 2009 file photo shows an assortment of Colt semi-automatic handguns on display at the Nations Gunshow in Chantilly, Va. A new study finds that intimate-partner homicide rates go down when states require violent offenders to relinquish their firearms. When domestic violence offenders are required to relinquish their guns, instead of simply being barred from owning firearms, the risk that …

Gun Violence Research Will Lead To Smarter Gun Laws
8 years, 5 months ago

Gun Violence Research Will Lead To Smarter Gun Laws

Huff Post  

George Frey / Reuters Our good friends at the Center for American Progress have published a new study on the link between gun laws and gun violence which is a ‘must-read’ for everyone who is concerned about reducing gun violence. But notwithstanding the dwindling Trump supporters, for those who support the concept of reasonable discourse based on at least some …

After Mass Shootings, Republicans Like to Loosen State Gun Laws
8 years, 9 months ago

After Mass Shootings, Republicans Like to Loosen State Gun Laws

Slate  

If you believe in gun control, chances are you’ve gotten used to the sense of futility and déjà vu that sets in after a mass shooting like this weekend’s massacre in Orlando, Florida. Because a recent study suggests that, over the past several decades, mass shootings have actually led states governed by Republicans to loosen gun laws further. In states …

Fact check: Have firearm homicides and suicides dropped since Port Arthur as a result of John Howard's reforms?
8 years, 11 months ago

Fact check: Have firearm homicides and suicides dropped since Port Arthur as a result of John Howard's reforms?

ABC  

The claim Crowds are expected to gather on April 28, 2016, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre. "The rates per 100,000 of total firearm deaths, firearm homicides and firearm suicides all at least doubled their existing rates of decline after the revised gun laws," the study said. It said one side of the debate, including the …

Many Western states seek ways to lower high suicide rates
8 years, 11 months ago

Many Western states seek ways to lower high suicide rates

Associated Press  

Throughout the interior West, states in a belt from Montana to New Mexico are looking for ways to lower their highest-in-the-nation suicide rates, although gun-specific initiatives are a touchy topic. “I understand the sensitivity of it, but I’ve got to ask the questions when we have kids who shoot themselves.” One of Montana’s hardest-hit areas is the city of Butte …

Aiming to drive down gun deaths? Put these three laws on the books, researchers say
9 years ago

Aiming to drive down gun deaths? Put these three laws on the books, researchers say

LA Times  

Background checks on those purchasing ammunition, if implemented alongside two other measures, might drive down gun deaths by 90%, says a new study. Study leader Bindu Kalesan, a quantitative social researcher at Boston University, said the effort was the first to rigorously examine the impact of specific gun laws on gun-related deaths across the United States. “The findings suggest that …

Americans 'much likelier to be killed by guns' than people in other countries
9 years, 1 month ago

Americans 'much likelier to be killed by guns' than people in other countries

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The gun homicide rate in the United States …

Gun control groups stress suicides in bid for more support
9 years, 2 months ago

Gun control groups stress suicides in bid for more support

CNN  

Story highlights When President Barack Obama speaks Tuesday night, there will be an empty chair symbolizing lives lost to gun violence Talking more about suicides may change the focus of the gun control debate by bringing a new group of victims into the discussion Washington CNN — Khary Pennebaker has no memory of his mother. READ: Obama to leave seat …

Guns are cuddly security blankets: How the media helps right-wing gun nuts push propaganda
9 years, 5 months ago

Guns are cuddly security blankets: How the media helps right-wing gun nuts push propaganda

Salon  

Conservative politicians and pundits lie and distort far more than liberals do. While Obama did focus heavily on mass shooting in his speech, it's clear that he was making a larger point about how the proliferation of guns in our society leads to more gun deaths. In addition, while the president's proposed policy agenda on gun violence focuses heavily on …

United States gun violence debate: a look at firearm laws and statistics
9 years, 7 months ago

United States gun violence debate: a look at firearm laws and statistics

ABC  

The shocking murder of two US journalists during a live TV broadcast has shined a spotlight yet again on the problem of gun violence in America. The United States has the highest rate of private gun ownership of any developed nation, at nearly 89 firearms per 100 people. Switzerland, the nation with the next highest rate, has 7.7 firearm homicides …

Charleston shooting: For every criminal killed in self-defence in the US, 34 innocent people die
9 years, 9 months ago

Charleston shooting: For every criminal killed in self-defence in the US, 34 innocent people die

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. That's become the kernel of the NRA's response …

Study takes new look at gun access and risk of homicide, suicide
11 years, 2 months ago

Study takes new look at gun access and risk of homicide, suicide

LA Times  

People who have ready access to a firearm are almost twice as likely to be killed and three times likelier to commit suicide than those without a gun available in the home or from a neighbor or friend, a new study has concluded. Though men and women with firearm access were about equally likely to take their own lives with …

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