Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Death by gunshot is the third leading cause of childhood death in the US.

Courtesy of Ars Technica:  

Nearly 1,300 children aged 0 to 17 are killed by gunshots each year in the US, and nearly 5,800 more suffer from non-lethal gunshot wounds, researchers estimate in a study published Monday in Pediatrics.

 In all, about 19 children die or are wounded each day from firearms, either by homicide, suicide, or unintentional shootings. Firearm-related deaths are now the third leading cause of death among US children and the second leading cause of injury-related deaths, behind car crashes. The grim national statistics are even more startling when considered from an international perspective: the US now accounts for 91 percent of all child firearm-related deaths (aged 0 to 14) among high-income countries. 

In addition to the broad figures compiled by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study also provides one of the most comprehensive looks yet at the factors surrounding those deaths and injuries. 

For the study, researchers tapped into national databases on firearm deaths and nonfatal injuries, including data on gunshots from handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Information was scraped from death certificates, hospital reports, medical examiner reports, and law enforcement reports. The researchers also collected demographic data, such as sex, race/ethnicity, and age.

The latest annual death estimate breaks down to: 53 percent from homicide, 38 percent from suicide, six percent unintentional, and the remaining three percent were either from unknown intentions or legal intervention. Boys made up 82 percent of those fatally shot, and older children (aged 13 to 17) were 12 times more likely to die from firearms than younger children (0 to 12). 

African American children were the demographic most likely to be killed by firearms, while white and Native American children are the most likely to take their own lives with a gun of some type.

It should also be noted that while firearm homicides and accidental deaths have gone down, that gun suicides have gone up.

It is also worth mentioning that 91% of the children killed by guns in high income countries, have died in the United States of America.

If there were any terrorist organization in the world that was murdering even thirteen of our children every year, we would mobilize our entire military to wipe them out.

But this is 1,300 of our babies, killed by instruments of death that adults bring into their homes to protect them.

When do we pass some laws and spend some money to help keep them safe?

12 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:16 AM

    Because they are ALIVE and will require money for health care and education. Zygotes are people, but living toddlers and teens are expendable to the right. The GOP is sick. Mentally unstable. I do wonder how many of these shootings are in RW homes as compared to liberal ones. One would think the NRA might be concerned about all those future gun buyers being killed before they hit puberty.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:28 AM

      My thoughts exactly. Human lives are worthless to the GOP once they are living and breathing.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  2. Anonymous2:50 AM

    This guy deserves his own post
    http://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/james-obrien/brexit-supporter-voted-to-take-back-control-but-ca/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:29 AM

      "“If every single member could veto every single bill in the European Parliament. If every member country had the power to veto anything significant?”

      The idea seemed to please the Brexit supporter as he replied: “That would be something, yes.”

      Unbeknown to Shane there was one catch. Britain can already do that as a member of the EU."

      Delete
  3. Anonymous3:35 AM

    Maybe never. In a "high-income" nation like ours (to call any nation "civilized" which willingly tolerates such a state of affairs is problematic at best), maybe we write them off as blood sacrifices to the only god we really believe in.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous6:33 AM

    "the investigation led to a Justice Department lawsuit over racially biased police and court practices. A settlement calls for significant changes in operations, including sensitivity training for officers, adoption of community policing techniques, court reforms and other measures."the agreement "shall remain sealed by this Court and shall be considered a closed record" because disclosure of the information "could jeopardize the safety of individuals involved in this matter, whether as witnesses, parties, or investigators." He did not elaborate."

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/settlement-reached-lawsuit-over-michael-browns-death-224330262.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous6:36 AM

    GOP to pass laws restricting gun death statistics in 3...2...1.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous7:00 AM

    BAD BOYS- WHAT YOU GONNA DO?
    "The program premiered on Fox TV on March 11, 1989"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cops_(TV_series)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:26 AM

      Maybe I missed it, but I wonder the first and second causes of death in the good old USA.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous8:21 AM

    http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/21/533795038/shooting-at-gop-baseball-practice-seems-to-have-been-spontaneous-fbi-says?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170621

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous8:37 AM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrxcwL5nDPM

    ""Easy Target" is John’s reflection on the state of our country. An outspoken artist, Mellencamp continues his journey to convey the truth through this passionate and plain-spoken song."

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous8:38 AM

    I looked at the study. 91 percent were homicides or suicides. I expected far more than 6 percent accidental. While sad I'm not sure that restricting gun ownership will put a dent in those statistics. We should be asking ourselves why so many of our kids kill themselves or why people are killing so many of our kids. Not babies btw. The study goes to age 17. I wonder what the percentage of homocides are gang related? Sad thoughts with morning coffee.

    ReplyDelete

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