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What Will It Take? Terrorism, Mass Murder, Gang Violence, And Suicides: The American Way, Or Do We Strive For A Better Way?, Katherine L. Record, Lawrence O. Gostin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The assertion that access to firearms makes us safe, rather than increases the likelihood that oneself or a family member will die, is contradicted by a large body of evidence. Gunshots kill more than 30,000 Americans each year. Homicide accounts for approximately one-third of these deaths, with the remainder involving suicides and accidental gun discharges. In fact, firearms put us at greater risk of death than participating in war; in four months, as many Americans were shot dead in the United States as have died fighting in Iraq for an entire decade. Given these grim statistics, it would be reasonable …