Do Guns Make Others Safe?
While there is a saying that, "guns don't kill, people do," firearms are the most commonly used weapon in domestic homicides, accounting for about 65% of all such deaths. They increase the risk of intimate partner homicide by fivefold. Having a gun in the home results in loss of life to women by suicide three times more often than where no such weapon was available. In 2005, it was documented that 5,285 US children were killed by gunshots according to data collected over a full year time period by the Centers for Disease Control; compare this to none in Japan, 19 for Great Britain, 57 in Germany, 109 in France, and 153 in Canada. During 2002, the Children's Defense Fund with the National Center for Health Statistics reported that 3,012 American children were killed in shootings and many more were injured. Other sources agree, indicating that approximately 15 children or adolescents die from firearm-related causes every day in the United States. Although, Child Access Prevention laws exist, they are not uniformly enacted; the intent is to require parents to store firearms safely and deny access to children, while maintaining adult availability. Cases of domestic gun violence go beyond the actual event; as people who witness such tragedy exhibit higher levels of prolonged personal grief and dysfunction and higher suicidal risks than their peers.
The consequences of gun-related violence, death, injury, disability, and/or dysfunction have a powerful impact on our society and health care system. Socially, it includes loss of loved ones, economic hardship, and psychological trauma to survivors. Bereavement compromises the quality of life after a shooting. This is especially true for children, even if they remain physically unharmed. Long-term adjustment problems often follow such traumas. When violent incidents occur in the community or if people generally feel threatened by consistent danger, it affects the whole population, thereby spreading the emotional pain. When young people repeatedly witness guns being used to deal with conflict, they adopt this form of problem solving. Medical expenses are affected as well, and this burden extends to the general population, governments, and the health care delivery system.
Guns have been utilized in assassinations of famous people, including several presidents. In America, guns are frequently used weapons in attacks on large numbers of people. The mass shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007 was initiated by a student who killed 32 individuals, wounded 24, and then committed suicide. This pattern of easy gun access, shooting others, and then oneself is tragically recurrent in our society. Easy access to firearms is well illustrated by the Virginia Tech incident. The shooter had a record which might not have passed the background check; according to the official report, he ordered his weapon over the internet and picked it up at a pawn shop. Beyond this, there are also fatalities during gang violence, criminal activities, drug procurements, interpersonal disagreements, law enforcement actions, or even random and accidental shootings. The sniper attacks in the Washington D.C. area during 2002 and the mass shootings of 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas are examples of the ongoing risk.