Gun Industry

Public Health Impact: Deaths from Gun Violence

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, firearms are responsible for approximately 30,000 deaths a year in the United States, more than in any other industrialized country in the world. They cause an additional 80,000 injuries, about one quarter of which result in the paralysis of the victim. A 2004 CDC report revealed homicide as the second leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 15 and 24, and 79% of these homicides are committed using firearms. Gun violence prevention advocates with Join Together have found that children in the U.S. are 12 times more likely to die from a gun injury than children in 25 other industrialized countries combined. A 1996 study from the Columbia University Center for Population and Family Health illustrated that Black and Latino youth are particularly affected by gun violence and are more likely to die of homicide than white youth.

Social Costs
The primary conflict between public health advocates and the gun industry is not related to the constitutionality of gun ownership, but rather the unregulated manufacture, marketing and sale of guns. Advocates for gun regulation have noted that the secondary market sale of firearms through gun shows, classified ads, and the street economy enables felons and others prohibited by law from owning guns to procure them, thus endangering the health and safety of communities across the country. Public health researchers and advocates oppose the gun industry practice of lobbying against gun control policies in the face of the already high rates of gun related violence in the United States.

Resources

Top 3 Domestic Gun Manufacturers
Ruger
2004 product sales: $145.6 million

Smith and Wesson
2004 product sales: $117.8 million

Beretta
2004 product sales: 184.9 million (internationally)

Industry Allies
National Rifle Association

Government/Regulatory Agencies
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
ATF 2000 report on firearm commerce in the United States

Organizations and Campaigns Challenging Industry Practices
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Gun Control Network
Harvard Center for Society and Health
Multinational Monitor
Violence Policy Center