In John Gramlich’s article, “What the Data Reveals About Gun Deaths in the U.S.,” I discovered troubling movements in gun violence, which are worsening each year not only in the United States but also globally. The article reports that in 2021, approximately 49,000 individuals lost their lives due to gun-related injuries in the United States. The majority of these deaths resulted from suicides (54%), while others were homicides (43%) or categorized under different cases(3%). More specifically in 2021, there were an estimated 27,000 suicides and 21,000 murders, while the other gun-related injuries from accidents (549), law enforcement involvement (537), or cases that remained undetermined (458). The peak death rates due to firearms have had the highest rate since the early 1990s which was in 2021; 14.6 gun deaths per 100,000 people.
I think that with the number of deaths each year caused by gun violence, I believe the government should be doing something about it. Some of the things the government can do to lower the death rates due to gun violence are updating gun laws or making it so a background check is recommended in order to purchase a firearm. If no one does anything about it the amount of deaths per year will only progressively get worse and worse.
As I continue to learn about gun violence, I want to know more about what the government is doing to prevent gun violence and if the issueis still getting worse or better.
Gramlich, John. “What the Data Says about Gun Deaths in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 26 Apr. 2023, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
Dear Yahir,
Your post made me think about background checks possibly being a big step toward reducing gun violence based on the statistics provided in your post. It is sad to see that most cases of deaths from guns are from suicide which tells a lot about how society has very poor mental health nowadays. Something I wonder is whether adding restrictions or background checks would prevent more suicides.
Sincerely,
Kevin M.
Dear Yahir,’
Your post made me think that we really need background checks since 54% of deaths are due to suicide and 43% are homicides. I also thought that it was crazy that so many people had died due to suicide in 2021. Something I wonder is what are you going to do if the government decides not to do anything about gun violence?
Sincerely,
Roberto V.