10 Things You Didn't Know About Gun Violence in America

Written by me. Original article here: http://www.viewsaboutissues.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-gun-violence-in-america/

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Gun Violence in America

Gun violence and gun control have been hot topic issues in America for the past six months. A string of recent mass shootings has elevated the issue to the national stage once again. Amid all the cries for gun control on the left, and the push back from the right, information that is factual is rare. Gun violence is an emotional subject. Logic and judgement is sometimes clouded by emotional reactions. I want to get back to logic when we talk about gun violence in America. For the sake of a logical argument there is no better tool than statistics.

In May of 2013 the U.S Department of Justice released a special report, Firearm Violence, 1993-2011. The majority of the data we discuss comes from this report. Contained in the report is data about firearm crime from 1993 to 2011. While reading it I was completely shocked. None of the major surprises in the report make it to the news, either from the left or right. Arguments for and against gun control rarely mentioned any of these facts and statistics. So now I bring to you a list of the highlights from the report. As I mentioned before, these are facts, compiled by an agency of our government currently controlled by liberal Democrats. What you are about to read is factual and could completely change your views on gun control. I cite the page of the report for each point on the list. Please refer to the actual DOJ report with the link above.

1. Murders Only Make Up 2% of Firearm Crime, and People Rarely Get Shot

Out of the 478,400 crimes committed and reported with a firearm in 2011, only 2% were homicides. Of the other 98% (nonfatal crimes), only 7% reported that the gun was fired. Of the 7% where a gun was fired, 28% of the victims suffered gunshot wounds. These statistics show that of all the firearm crimes reported, very few of them involved gunshot wound victims. (See page 10 of report)

2. Victims of Gun Violence are Rarely Armed or Offer Resistance to the Offender

From 2007-2011, only 1% of firearm crime victims used a firearm to threaten or attack the offender. During that same period, 44% of victims reported offering no resistance to offender. These statistics show that armed people are virtually never victims of gun violence (where they used their weapon). It also shows shockingly that almost half the victims don’t resist the crime at all. (See page 12 of report)

3. Very Few Convicted Felons Get Their Guns From Flea Markets or Gun Shows

A survey in 2004 of state and federal inmates shows that less than 2% of inmates that used a gun in their crime got the gun from a flea market or gun show. 40% reported obtaining the weapon illegally, 37% reported obtaining it from a family member or friend, and 10% bought their gun from a retail location. These statistics completely prove false the myth that gun shows and flea markets allow criminals to get around the background check system. Almost half illegally obtain a weapon, and most of the other half obtain their weapons from people who already legally bought a gun. (See page 13 of report)

4. Gun Murders are Down 39%, Gun Injuries are Down 69% Over the Last 20 Years

Gun related deaths in America have declined 39% since 1993. Nonfatal gun crimes have declined even more, 69%, over the same period. Years 2010 and 2011 saw the lowest gun related deaths since 1999 and 2000. This statistic speaks for itself. Gun crime, both murder and nonfatal, is declining in America. The report does not give any suggestions as to why the decline is taking place. (See page 1 of report)

5. Most Gun Crime is Committed With Handguns

Of all the gun murders in 2011, 73% were committed with handguns. From 1994-2011, 9 out of 10 nonfatal gun crimes were committed with handguns. The rest of fatal and nonfatal gun crimes were committed with rifles, shotguns, or unknown. The report groups rifles, shotguns, and unknown together for the statistics, but a similar FBI report shows that less than 2% of gun homicides are committed with a rifle each year. These statistics show that the majority of gun crime involves handguns. That is especially true in nonfatal crimes, which comprise 98% of all gun crime. (See page 3 of report)

6. Young Black Males Make Up the Majority of Gun Crime Victims

Males are 6 times more likely to be gun murder victims than females. Black people are 7 times more likely to be gun murder victims than white people. Young people age 18-24 had a rate of 10.7 homicides per 100,000 in 2010 compared to 8.1 for those age 25-34. These statistics show that young black males make up the majority of gun crime in America. (See pages 4-6 of report)

7. Gun Crime is Higher In Urban Environments

In 2011 the rate of nonfatal gun violence for urban residents was 2.5 per 1000. In rural areas the rate was 1.2. Suburban residents had a rate of 1.4. Statistics of fatal gun violence in terms of urban/rural areas is not available according to the report. Gun crime occurs twice as often in urban areas compared to rural areas per 1000 people. Suburban residents are slightly higher than rural residents. (See page 7 of report)

8. The Northeast Region Has the Least Amount of Gun Crime

In 2010 the South region had a rate of 4.4 gun homicides per 100,000 people, compared with 2.8 per 100,000 in the Northeast region. (See page 6 of report)

9. School Related Homicides for Youths Comprise 2% of All Youth Homicides

The number of homicides at school for children age 5-18 has declined over the last 20 years, from 34 deaths per year in 1993 to 17 deaths per year in 2010. Deaths in school for ages 5-18 make up 2% of the deaths of that age group. The majority of homicides against youth were committed with firearms. (See page 9 of report)

10. The Majority of Gun Violence is Reported to the Police

From 2007-2011, 61% of nonfatal gun crimes were reported to police, compared to just 46% of non-firearm violence. The most common reason victims gave for not reporting the crime to police was fear of reprisal (33%). Another common excuse as that the police could not do anything to help (27%). (See page 12 of report)