Shocking Statistics about Gun Violence

Nearly 40,000 people died by gun violence in the U.S. in 2018, with more than twice as many injured. 61% of gun deaths are by suicide. ¹
In the U.S. there are more guns than autos and more stores to buy guns than there are coffee shops. At 393 million civilian-owned firearms, there’s more than one firearm for every man woman and child in the U.S. ²
Approximately 380,000 firearms are stolen each year.³ The lack of a national registry and Congressional prohibitions make tracing ownership of crime guns difficult.
More than 40% of gun-owning households with children store their guns unlocked. That helps to account for more than 2,700 children and teens injured and 110 killed in unintentional shootings each year.⁴
One in five firearm purchases occurs without a criminal background check.⁵

Gun Violence in Connecticut

In 2019, Connecticut had 181 firearm deaths. At 61 percent of the total, gun suicides accounted for the greatest number of gun deaths. Gun homicides in the largest cities (Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford) accounted for 25 percent of total firearm homicides. ⁶
 56 percent of the state’s gun homicide victims are Black, five times the proportion who live here. Young Black men are profoundly vulnerable, killed by guns at 39 times the rate that young white men are. ⁷
Nearly half the guns recovered from crime scenes in Connecticut come from out of state.⁸ The five states that export the most crime guns to CT all have weak gun laws. GA and SC have failing grades from the Giffords Law Center, while NC and VA barely pass with “D”s. ⁹
Gun violence costs Connecticut an estimated $1.2 billion every year. Of that, measurable hard costs are $430 million, of which at least $90 million is paid by taxpayers each year. ¹⁰

Gun Violence in the U.S.

Black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to die by gun homicide. ¹¹
Over 80% of child firearm suicides used a gun belonging to a family member. ¹²
About 4.5 million American women alive today have been threatened with a gun by an intimate partner. Nearly 1 million women alive today have been shot, or shot at, by an intimate partner. ¹³
Guns are the second leading cause of death among children and teens. Black children and teens are 15 times more likely than white children and teens to die by gun homicide. ¹⁴
Although guns are used in only 6 percent of suicide attempts, because they are more lethal (resulting in death 85 percent of the time), gun suicides account for more deaths than all other means of suicide combined.¹⁵
The impact of gun violence goes beyond those who are shot and killed. An estimated 3 million American children witness gun violence every year, which can lead to poor performance in school and serious physical and behavioral health issues later in life.¹⁶

Guns Don’t Make Us Safer

A domestic abuser with access to a firearm makes it 5x more likely the woman will be killed.
The rate of gun deaths is 7 times higher in states with the highest levels of gun ownership compared to states, like Connecticut, with the lowest rates.¹⁷
Using a gun for self-defense is no more effective than other measures, such as calling 9-1-1 for help.¹⁸
States with weak concealed carry permit requirements have higher rates of violent crime. Loosening restrictions on carrying concealed weapons in public increases violent crime by 13% to 15% over the following ten years.¹⁹

What the Public Thinks About Guns

59% of Americans believe gun violence in America is a major problem. ²⁰
By a margin of 2:1, 66% of voters support stricter gun laws. Overall, 97% of voters support universal background checks for all gun buyers. The near-unanimous support extends to gun-owning households and voters of all political affiliation. Two-thirds of voters believe it is too easy to purchase a gun in the U.S.²¹
More than half (56%) of adults believe that allowing more people to carry concealed weapons in public would make us the U.S. safer. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of adults believe a gun in the home makes it safer. ²²
Arming teachers in schools is opposed by 73% of teachers. Nearly 6 in 10 believe it would make schools less safe.²³

Notes

CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Nonfatal Injury Reports. (link)
These 14 Facts Are Crucial to Understanding Gun Violence in America; The Trace, Jun 19, 2017
Whose guns are stolen? The epidemiology of gun theft victims, Injury Epidemiology, Apr 2017
Firearm storage patterns in US homes with children; American Journal of Public Health, Oct 10, 2011 (link)
Firearm Acquisition Without Background Checks: Results of a National Survey; Annals of Internal Medicine (link)
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of Connecticut
Giffords Law Center, The Economic Cost of Gun Violence in Connecticut. (link)
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information, CT Firearms Tracing Systems, 2018. (link)
Giffords Law Center Annual Score Card. (link)
The Economic Cost of Gun Violence in Connecticut, Giffords Law Center (link)
CDC. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Nonfatal Injury Reports.  (link)
Who are the owners of firearms used in adolescent suicides? Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 2010 (link)
Nonfatal Gun Use in Intimate Partner Violence A Systematic Review of the Literature; National Institutes of Health – Sep 2016 (link)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS Fatal Injury Reports, Leading Causes of Death, United States – 2016.
10 Essential Facts about Guns and Suicide; The Trace, Sep 6, 2016 (link)
The Impact Of Gun Violence On American Children And Teenagers; Everytown for Gun Safety – 2018 (link)
Firearms Research; Harvard Injury Control Research Center (link)
The epidemiology of self-defense gun use: evidence from the National Crime Victimization Surveys, Preventive Medicine, Oct 2015. (link)
The epidemiology of self-defense gun use: evidence from the National Crime Victimization Surveys, Preventive Medicine, Oct 2015. (link)
SurveyUSA poll, Dec 2018 (link)
Quinnipiac University Poll – Feb 20, 2018 (link)
Guns, Historical Trends; Gallup – 2014/15 (link)
Most U.S. Teachers Oppose Carrying Guns in Schools; Gallup – Mar 16, 2018 (link)

Shocking Statistics about Gun Violence

Gun Violence in Connecticut

Gun Violence in the U.S.

Guns Don’t Make Us Safer

What the Public Thinks About Guns

Notes

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Shocking Statistics about Gun Violence

Gun Violence in Connecticut

Gun Violence in the U.S.

Guns Don’t Make Us Safer

What the Public Thinks About Guns

Notes

Menu

Follow us

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