Know the Facts

In Washington state, nearly 6,000 people have been killed by guns in the past decade. That’s more than 10 times the number of firearms deaths in England in the same period, though that country has nearly eight times the population of our state. Only a small percentage of gun deaths are gang-related; over half are the result of suicide, and when there is a gun in the home, the risk of suicide increases dramatically. Guns are now a leading cause of death for young men 15-24.

Gun violence is preventable. Those states that have the most reasonable gun laws have far fewer gun deaths than those states that have the least restrictions. Washington State was given a very low score recently by a national organization for its lax gun regulations. We can and must do much better for the sake of ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.

In 2009, more people in Washington state were killed by guns than died in traffic accidents. Source: Washington state Dept. of Health http://www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/emstrauma/injury/data_tables/WA/FatalxWA.pdf

An average of 268 people are shot every day in America, for a total of nearly 100,000 each year. Source: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/

From 1960 to 2000, about 500,000 Americans were murdered with guns – more Americans than died in all the wars of the 20th Century. Source: David Hemenway, "Private Guns, Public Health," University of Michigan Press, 2004

Americans own an estimated 270 million firearms – approximately 90 guns for every 100 people. Source: Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, "Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City," at 39 (Aug. 2007).

Living in a home where there are guns increases the risk of homicide by 40 to 170% and the risk of suicide by 90 to 460%. Source: Garen J. Wintemute, "Guns, Fear, the Constitution, and the Public's Health," 358 New England J. Med. 1421-1424 (April 3, 2008) http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMp0800859

Rather than conferring protection, guns in the home are associated with an increase in the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance. Source: Arthur L. Kellerman et al., "Gun Ownership as a Risk Factor for Homicide in the Home," 329 New Eng. J. Med. 1084 (1993).