Introduction
The Problem with Guns
Self-Defense
Handguns
Gun Availability
Second Amendment
Gun Control
Sources and Resources
Gun Availability
There are approximately 200 million guns in America, owned by about 35% of all households. These guns greatly affect the quality of life in America.
Greater gun availability increases the rates of murder and suicide. The chance that a moment of anger will end up in someone being severely injured or even killed is much larger when a gun is present. The chance that a suicide attempt will actually succeed is also much larger when a gun is used. Many people are losing their lives each year, and even more people are losing loved ones.
Greater gun availability also increases the likelihood of them entering illegal markets. Guns used in violent crimes are usually stolen or transferred between individuals. The availability of a gun can encourage a criminal to perform a crime he or she wouldn't have committed otherwise.
It is especially sad how children are affected by so many guns circulating in society. Guns are the method of choice for both homicide and suicide of our children. We also lose many children to unintentional gun deaths. What follows is a review of a study that was done about these issues.
"Firearm Availability and Unintentional Firearm Deaths, Suicide, and Homicide among 5-14 Year Olds"Study By: Mathew Miller, MD, MPH, ScD, Deborah Azrael, PhD, and David Hemenway, PhD. Published in the Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care. 52(2):267-275, February 2002. (6) Background: Only vehicle crashes and cancer claim more lives among children than guns. This study attempts to determine whether the availability of guns affects the rates of unintentional gun deaths, suicides and homicides among children. Methods: Pooled cross-sectional time-series data from 50 states between 1988 and 1997 were used to estimate the association between gun availability and the rates of suicide, homicide and unintentional gun deaths among children 5-14 years old. Results: Between 1988 and 1997 there were 6,817 children 5-14 years old killed with guns in the United States: 3,447 gun homicides, 1,588 gun suicides and 1,782 unintentional gun deaths. A comparison was made between the rates of homicide, suicide and unintentional gun deaths among children 5-14 years old of states with a high gun availability (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia) and a low gun availability (Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Delaware). Homicide,
Suicide and Unintentional Gun Deaths among 5-14 Year Old
Compared to children living in low-gun states, children living in the high-gun states were 16 times more likely to die from unintentional gun injury, 7 times more likely to die from gun suicide and 3 times more likely to die from gun homicide. Conclusion: The study found a positive and statistically significant association between gun availability and state-level rates of gun suicides, gun homicides and unintentional gun deaths among children 5-14 years old. |
Another study that clearly shows that there is a positive correlation between the availability of guns and the homicide rate is "The Kansas City Gun Experiment". What follows is a short review of this study.
"The Kansas City Gun Experiment"Study By: Lawrence W. Sherman, James W. Shaw, and Dennis P. Rogan. Published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, January 1995. (7) Background: Handgun crime is increasing rapidly throughout the nation. This study aimed to find out whether greater enforcement of existing laws against carrying concealed weapons could reduce gun crime. Important Note: This study could not eliminate all competing explanations of the results and could therefore not prove that an increase of gun seizures results in reduced gun crime. This study was designed to study the hypothesis that gun seizures and gun crime are inversely related. Methods: An 80 by 10 block area in Kansas City was chosen as the target beat. In 1991, this area had 8 homicides, 14 rapes, 72 armed robberies and 222 aggravated assaults (142 with guns). A second area, similar to the target beat in many ways, was chosen as the control beat. Between July 7, 1992 to January 25, 1993, police officers put in an extra of 4,512 patrol hours in the target beat, focusing exclusively on gun detection through proactive patrol. These officers seized a total of 29 guns. An additional 47 guns were seized in the target area by other police unites. The total number of guns seized was 76, an overall increase of 46 guns compared to the first half of 1992. There were 72 guns seized in the target area, 13 less than in the first half of 1992. Gun crime was compared between the target beat and the control beat during the extra patrol period (7/7/92-1/25/93) and the six months prior (12/17/91-7/6/92). Results: During the extra patrol period, gun crime decreased significantly in the target beat and increased just slightly in the control beat. None of the target's seven contiguous beats showed any significant change in gun crime. The target area showed a significant decrease of both driveby shootings and homicides during the extra patrol period. There were no significant changes in driveby shootings and homicides in the control beat and the target's contiguous beats. Neither the target nor the control areas showed any significant changes in non-gun related offenses. Number of gun crimes before and during the extra patrol period
Conclusion: A small increase in the number of guns seized can have a substantial impact on the percentage of gun crimes. An important secondary conclusion is that the police can increase the numbers of guns seized in high gun crime areas at relatively modest cost. |