Gun violence: 5 facts that explain why it was declared a public health crisis in the US

According to experts, the report is symbolic and does not require changing policies on this issue in the United States, but it is a step to stop deaths and change the debate around weapons in the country.

The crisis is driven, according to the report, by the increase in gun-related homicides over the past decade and gun-related suicides over the past two decades.

Next, We show you the serious crisis of recent years through five key figures:

Gun deaths in the United States have been on the rise, reaching a three-decade high in 2021.

Since 2020, this type of violence It is the main cause of death in children and adolescents between 1 and 19 years old.surpassing deaths from traffic accidents, cancer and drug overdoses or poisoning.

Compared to other countries, for every million people ages 1 to 19, there are 36.4 gun deaths in the US.

In Japan there are 0.3 deaths and in the United Kingdom 0.5 deaths in the same age range.

According to the report, since 2022, a total of 48,204 people have died from firearm-related injuries, including suicides, homicides and accidental deaths. This represents 8,000 more deaths than in 2019 and almost 16,000 more than in 2010.

Within these figures, It is estimated that suicides have increased by 20% among the young population.

In United States, Armed violence has directly or indirectly affected more than half of its inhabitants.

Fifty-four percent of adults, or their families, have experienced a firearm-related incident, according to data from a national survey cited in the report.

Of this percentage, 21% have been threatened with a gun, 19% have family members who have been killed by a gun (including suicide), 17% have witnessed a shooting, and 4% have fired a gun in defense own or has been injured by a weapon.

“For every life lost, there are two people who are shot and injured and suffer consequences to their mental and physical health, family members who mourn the loss of a loved one, witnesses to these incidents, and millions of people who read and hear about of gun violence every day in the newspapers,” Murthy said in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday.

The crisis then affects not only the victims, but also the surrounding community. One of the main consequences is a decline in mental health.

Exposure to gun violence can contribute to higher levels of stress and threaten people’s sense of safety. In communities where there is a shooting or multiple shootings, emergency room use increases by 50% for mental health reasons within 30 days of the incident.

The constant worry about being a victim of gun violence is something Americans must live with on a daily basis.

Six in ten adults in the United States say they worry about someone in their family or loved ones becoming a victim of gun violence. More than a third of adults in the country experience stress over the possibility of a mass shooting, and one in three adults say fear prevents them from going to certain places or events.

The crisis, however, does not affect everyone in the same way. Black communities were the most affected in 2022 with the highest number of homicides by weapons of all ages.

Among youth living in large U.S. cities, Black and Latino youth are up to 7 times more likely to experience or witness gun violence.

The firearm death rate is 11.4 times higher in the United States than in 28 other high-income countries.which makes this issue a particularly American problem.

Although the United States represents only 31% of the total population of the 29 countries studied, the country accounts for 83.7% of all firearm-related deaths in these countries.

The most affected group continues to be children and young people.

The figures are more dramatic if the data from these countries on deaths of young people and children between 0 and 14 years old are compared. In 2015, 9 out of 10 children who died from gun violence lived in the US.

The number of shootings is also increasing in the US, although they only account for 1% of gun-related deaths. According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 600 mass shootings occurred each year between 2020 and 2023, compared to the average of fewer than 400 between 2015 and 2018.

Although having a gun at home is synonymous with security for many, statistics prove the opposite.

Having a gun in the home is associated with an increased risk of homicide or suicide for people living there.

According to the report, in a tense situation a weapon is more likely to be used and this can lead to deadly consequences. Suicide, for example, can occur within minutes or hours after this decision has been made. Access to a weapon can transform a crisis episode into a fatal moment.

Easy access to guns at home and poor storage lead to accidental deaths.

56% of unintentional firearm deaths among children and adolescents between 0 and 17 years of age occurred in their own home between 2003 and 2021. This is aggravated when most weapons are stored loaded or without safety measures.

About two-thirds of the shooters were playing with the gun or showing it to others when it went off.

An unlocked gun at home is linked to a higher risk of suicide or intentional shooting among children and teens. Guns stored unlocked were most commonly found under the pillow, in the bed, under the mattress or on top of the nightstand, places easily accessible to children.

Fear and concern about gun violence are constant among teenagers, especially when it comes to school shootings.

51% of teens ages 14 to 17 are worried about the possibility of a school shooting, and most of them have reported thinking about what would happen if an armed person walked into their school or a nearby school.

This fear has consequences.

School absenteeism is one of the main ones. Teenagers avoid attending classes because they do not feel safe. An example is the aftermath of the Columbine school tragedy. After this shooting, the number of students who were absent from class because they feared for their safety doubled.

Children’s mental health and development are also affected. According to the report, childhood exposure to witnessing firearm-related incidents has been associated with increased odds of carrying firearms in adolescence. Additionally, cumulative exposure to gun violence can impair development and contribute to mental and behavioral problems.

“We don’t have to continue down this path and we don’t have to subject our children to the continued horror of gun violence in America,” Murthy said.

Murthy is confident that the politicization of an issue that has divided lawmakers can be eliminated and that, instead, a solution can be achieved make Americans aware of the consequences and the numbers.

Advocates for safer gun use were optimistic about the surgeon general’s announcement, calling it a step toward changing public opinion on the issue.

“This is not a political issue,” Dr Chethan Sathya, director of Northwell Health’s Gun Violence Prevention Centre, told the BBC. “This is about safer communities, gun safety and violence prevention.”

Sathya believes the report “legitimizes” a debate about using research and public health resources to address the problem with public health solutions.

“We need a policy and a strategy with many different nuances to be able to address this in a way that makes sense for all Americans.”

A big step has to do with recognizing the magnitude of the problem, the report says.

Although ten major national medical associations have endorsed Murthy’s report, the reaction from conservatives has not been positive.

On its social media, the National Rifle Association, the country’s largest gun lobby, responded to what it called “an extension of the Biden Administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners.”