Gun Violence in AmericaFirearms are the second leading cause of traumatic death related to a consumer product in the United States and are the second most frequent cause of death overall for Americans ages 15 to 24. Since 1960, more than a million Americans have died in firearm suicides, homicides, and unintentional injuries. In 2003 alone, 30,136 Americans died by gunfire: 16,907 in firearm suicides, 11,920 in firearm homicides, 730 in unintentional shootings, and 232 in firearm deaths of unknown intent, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Nearly three times that number are treated in emergency rooms each year for nonfatal firearm injuries.
Who Dies? offers a demographic breakdown of trends in firearm-related death and injury in the United States. The study also includes information on the staggering economic burden of firearms violence�especially on trauma care centers that treat its victims. Finally, the appendices provide historical data on firearm death rates, figures on the number and value of firearms produced in the United States, and a primer on the true meaning of the Second Amendment.
This resource guide is designed to allow advocates working to reduce firearms violence to easily identify and locate those studies and articles that are the sources for the most commonly referenced statistics on firearms violence in the United States.
Information about how to obtain the referenced article or study is included in each citation. Many of the publications in this guide are free.
A list of organizations and agencies active in the firearms issue is provided in Appendix One. Appendix Two contains a short primer about understanding and using statistics.