Reference
- Gun ViolenceDefinition
Gun violence is injury or death caused by firearms and includes accidental shootings, suicides, and intentional shootings. Intentional shootings range from heat-ofthe-moment shots fired at moments of domestic tension to pre-planned mass shootings such as multi-victim attacks on schools or places of business or worship.
Description
Gun violence is a serious problem in the United States. In 2014, firearms killed 33,599 people, of which 10,945 of those were homicides and 21,334 were suicides. The rest were police shootings or accidents, many of them involving children.
Homicide
Every day in the United States an average of 31 people are murdered with firearms. Another 151 are treated for gunshot wounds in hospitals. The U.S. firearm homicide rate is extremely high; according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, it is 20 times higher than the combined rates in 22 other developed countries.
Suicide
Suicides comprise about two-thirds of gun deaths. Every day, approximately 55 people in the United States shoot themselves in the United States; about 90% of those shootings are fatal. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 10 and 24. The firearm suicide rate increased more than 13% between 2007 and 2013, possibly the result of increasing numbers of guns in homes.
Having a gun in a house makes suicide three times more likely than in a home with no firearms. Many suicide attempts are the result of impulse, not long-term careful planning, and a gun is a quick and decisive method. Guns are much more lethal than other methods. People who survive suicide attempts do not necessarily try again, but few people survive such attempts.
Accidents
Accidental shootings are not nearly as prevalent as suicides or homicides, but they are still a serious problem. On average, one child every day dies from a gun accident. These accidents typically involve children under the age of five—both shooter and victim, who may be the same person. Young children do not understand that guns are not toys, and they should never be left unsupervised with loaded, unlocked guns.
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Perspectives
Parkland
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER On the first anniversary of the events at Parkland, the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of Columbine offers an intimate, deeply moving account of the extraordinary teenage survivors who became activists and pushed back against the NRA and feckless Congressional leaders--inspiring millions of Americans to join their grassroots #neveragain movement. Nineteen years ago, Dave Cullen was among the first to arrive at Columbine High, even before most of the SWAT teams went in. While writing his acclaimed account of the tragedy, he suffered two bouts of secondary PTSD. He covered all the later tragedies from a distance, working with a cadre of experts cultivated from academia and the FBI, but swore he would never return to the scene of a ghastly crime. But in March 2018, Cullen went to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School because something radically different was happening. In nearly twenty years witnessing the mass shootings epidemic escalate, he was stunned and awed by the courage, anger, and conviction of the high school's students. Refusing to allow adults and the media to shape their story, these remarkable adolescents took control, using their grief as a catalyst for change, transforming tragedy into a movement of astonishing hope that has galvanized a nation. Cullen unfolds the story of Parkland through the voices of key participants whose diverse personalities and outlooks comprise every facet of the movement. Instead of taking us into the mind of the killer, he takes us into the hearts of the Douglas students as they cope with the common concerns of high school students everywhere--awaiting college acceptance letters, studying for mid-term exams, competing against their athletic rivals, putting together the yearbook, staging the musical Spring Awakening, enjoying prom and graduation--while moving forward from a horrific event that has altered them forever. Deeply researched and beautifully told, Parkland is an in-depth examination of this pivotal moment in American culture--and an up-close portrait that reveals what these extraordinary young people are like. As it celebrates the passion of these astonishing students who are making history, this spellbinding book is an inspiring call to action for lasting change.
Gun Violence in America
Few Social Issues Have produced more exaggerated claims and contention among Americans than the struggle to control gun violence. Fueling the emotional fire in debates between firearm groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun control advocates is the dispute over the importance of guns in American culture. Is the fondness for firearms truly part of a venerable American tradition, one to be observed with very few limits? In this fascinating inquiry, Alexander DeConde delves into the myths and politics regarding gun keeping, as well as the controversies over gun use, crime, and policing from the early days of the republic to the present. The fact that the second amendment to the constitution appears to protect the right of the citizenry to keep and bear arms has led many Americans to assume that our forebears were uniformly a gun-loving people. By the early 1900s, the image of the American pioneer building the nation with gun in hand had become a widely recognized symbol of virtue, self-reliance, and the fight against tyranny. This glorified perspective of civilian gun keeping, maintains DeConde, offered an appealing reason for allowing private citizens easy access
Reducing Gun Violence
To assess whether an initiative to reduce gun violence that had been successful in Boston could be adapted for use elsewhere, researchers selected an East Los Angeles area for a similar intervention that was to include both law enforcement and social service components. Although the latter component was not widely available when the intervention began, researchers found that the intervention helped reduce violent and gang crime in the targeted districts and that crime also decreased in surrounding communities.
Guns and Violence
Every day on average, 48 children and teens in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides and suicide attempts, unintentional shootings, and police interventions. This anthology contains a diverse collection of essays about guns and gun violence. Taken together, they offer a wide array of views on the issues surrounding the topic. Disparate viewpoints of complex issues are encapsulated in each chapter with the use of a question-and-response format. Students are encouraged to see the validity of divergent opinions, so that they may understand the topic inclusively. Important facts, perfect for report writing, are dispersed throughout in eye-catching boxed insets.
Encyclopedia of Gun Control & Gun Rights
With public perception of gun violence at an all-time high, this second edition of Encyclopedia of Gun Control and Gun Rights is a must-have resource for all libraries.
Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture and the Law
Top scholars present an unbiased work that takes on the explosive issue of guns and gun violence in the United States.
Gunned Down
- Kanopy This link opens in a new window
FRONTLINE goes inside the politics of America's gun debate. Veteran filmmaker Michael Kirk investigates the NRA, its political evolution and influence, and how it has consistently succeeded in defeating new gun control legislation.
Gunned Down investigates how the NRA uses its unrivaled political power to stop gun regulation in America. With first-hand accounts of school killings in Newtown and Columbine, and the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, "Gunned Down" examines why, despite the national trauma over gun violence, Washington hasn't acted.
Behind the Bullet
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowThis documentary takes a moving look at four individuals who have shot someone. They describe how the pull of a trigger changed them emotionally, psychologically and spiritually offering a powerful new perspective on gun violence.
Online Resources
- Firearm Violence PreventionA firearm injury is a gunshot wound or penetrating injury from a weapon that uses a powder charge to fire a projectile...
- Gun ViolenceLaw enforcement agencies implement a variety of strategies and methods to combat crime and ensure public safety. Policing strategies extend beyond traditional models of responding to calls for service and often seek to increase crime prevention, intervention, and response effectiveness through such techniques that focus on gun violence prevention and intervention.
- Gun Violence in the United StatesGun violence is a preventable public health tragedy affecting communities all over the United States. Every day, more than 100 Americans die by gun violence, including 64 who die by firearm suicide, 39 Americans who die by firearm homicide, and 3 who are killed by other forms of gun violence. In addition, every day nearly 200 Americans visit the emergency department for nonfatal firearm injuries.
Living For 32
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowOn a snowy April day at Virginia Tech in 2007, 32 students and faculty were shot and killed by a lone gunman, 17 others were wounded, and six more were injured jumping out of windows.
Through the personal story of survivor Colin Goddard, Living for 32 tells the tragic tale of one of the worst gun massacres in recent American history, along with Goddard's inspirational journey of renewal and hope. The then-21-year-old was shot four times and told he might never walk again. He lives today with three bullets still lodged in his body and a titanium rod in his left leg.