Gun Facts

• According to the New England Journal of Medicine: a gun in the home is 43 times more likely to be used against a member of the household than against an intruder.

• According to federal data released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for fiscal year 2007, gun dealers “lost” an average of at least 82 firearms every day, totaling more than 30,000 firearms unaccounted for in dealers inventory in fiscal year 2007. (Source: Brady Center Newsletter).

• According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between February 29, 1994 and December 31, 2005, federal and state law enforcement officials prevented 1.36 million gun sales to convicted felons and other prohibited purchasers as a result of background checks.

• In 2005, there were 30,694 gun-related deaths - 84 people each day; 187 of those killed were in Connecticut - 1 person every 2.1 days. (7)

• US gun death declined between 1993-2000, but in 2005 was at it's highest level since 1998. (8)

• Firearms are used in over 2,000 crimes every year in Connecticut. (12)

• African Americans comprise approximately 9% of CT's population, but account for 37% of all firearm-related injuries treated in hospitals. (1)

• Most women are killed by their intimate partners and over two-thirds are killed by guns. (2)

• About 35% of U.S. homes have at least one firearm. If there is a gun in her home, a woman is five times more likely than other women to become a victim of domestic homicide. (3)

Costs of Gun Violence

• In CT, direct hospital costs associated with treating firearms-related injuries totaled $7,661,586 in FY 2004. This does not include any additional costs, i.e. long-term care, rehab, home health aides or other expenses that may occur over a lifetime as a result of a firearm injury. (4)

• Nearly 70% of all CT firearm-related injury victims were either uninsured or covered by Medicaid. (5)

• In 2005, an estimated 69,825 nonfatal firearm injuries and 19,675 bb/pellet gun injuries were treated in US emergency departments. (10)

• Approximately 59% of the costs of gun-related injuries and deaths is paid by the public. (11)

• The total annual cost of gun violence in America is estimated at $100 billion per year. (13)

• New Fact Sheet On Firearm-Related Injuries
  • A new Fact Sheet from the CT Hospital Association provides an overview of Connecticut firearm-related injury trends, profiles where the majority of these injuries are treated in the state, and outlines implications of firearm-related injuries for Connecticut hospitals. Read More

Firearms & Suicide

• Suicide is the leading cause of gun death both in the US (55%) & in Connecticut (60%). (14)

• In Connecticut in 2005, 87 percent of firearms suicide victims were white males. (15)

• In CT, 35% of suicides are committed by firearms; 35% are by hanging, 19% are by poisoning, and 11% are all other methods. (16)

• In 2004, Suicides occur in the majority of Connecticut towns. Click here to see a map showing locations of all suicides in 2004. (28)

Firearms & Homicide

• In Connecticut in 2004, 90% of firearms homicide victims were males. The firearms homicide rate for African American males was 8 times higher than that for white males, and 3.5 times higher for Latino males than for white males. Click here to see a map showing locations of all homicides in 2004. (17)

• In CT, for every 10 people killed in a homicide, at least 5 are killed by someone they know; only 1 is killed by stranger. (18)

• In CT, 60% of homicides are committed using firearms; 15% use a sharp instrument, and 25% are all other methods. (16)

• In 2004, Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport had the highest number of homicides. Click here to see a map showing locations of all homicides in 2004. (27)

Kids & Guns

• In CT, 23% of small-city 9th and 10th graders and 15% of affluent suburban 9th and 10th graders said that it would be sort of easy or very easy to get a gun. (19)

• A 2005 survey of CT students reported that 16% carried a weapon, such as a gun, knife, or club on one or more of the past 30 days. (20)

• In the US, firearms kill more 15-20-year-olds than drunk driving crashes (3,260 vs. 2,283). (21)

Click here for More Gun Facts

Credits

1. CHIMEData Fact Sheet, "Firearm Injuries in CT", CT Hospital Association, June, 2005, p. 1.
2. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Homicide Trends in the U.S.: Intimate Homicide. USDOJ
3. Smith T. National gun policy survey of the National Opinion Research Center; research findings. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago; 2001. Campbell J, Webster D, Kozoil-McLain J, et al. Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health. 2003;93:1232-1237.
4. CHIMEData Fact Sheet, "Firearm Injuries in CT", CT Hospital Association, June, 2005, p. 1.
5. CHIMEData Fact Sheet, "Firearm Injuries in CT", CT Hospital Association, June, 2005, p. 1.
6. CHIMEData Fact Sheet, "Firearm Injuries in CT", CT Hospital Association, June, 2005, p. 2.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS. www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.
8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS. www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.
9. Cook PPJ, Ludwig J. Gun violence: The Real Costs. Oxford University Press 2000.
10. Centers for Disease Control, QISQARS, http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/nfirates2001.html.
11. Coben JH, Steiner CA. Hospitalization for Firearm-Related Injuries in the United States, 1997. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2003,24(1).1-8.
12. Crime in CT, Annual Report of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Division of State Police, Crimes Analysis Unit, 2003 (prelim.), 2002, 2001, 2000.
13. Cook PPJ, Ludwig J. Gun violence: The Real Costs. Oxford University Press 2000.
14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS. www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.
15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS. www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.
16. Injury Prevention Center, CT Children's Medical Center, CT Violent Injury Statistics System 2004 Report, p. 13.
17. Injury Prevention Center, CT Children's Medical Center, CT Violent Injury Statistics System 2004 Report, p. 9.
18. Crime in CT, Annual Report of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Division of State Police, Crimes Analysis Unit, 2004, 2003, 2002.
19. Canny, Priscilla F. & Michelle Beaulieu Cooke, The State of Connecticut's Youth, 2003: Data, Outcomes and Indicators; Connecticut Voices for Children, p. 37.
20. CT Dept. of Public Health, Connecticut School Health Survey, http://www.dph.state.ct.us/BCH/HISR/cshs.htm
21. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS. www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. MADD Online: Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities by age and the Highest BAC in the Crash - 2000, http://www.madd.org/stats/0,1056,2476,00.html. 05/10/05
22. National Safe Kids Campaign, 1997
23. Mark A. Schuster et al., Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children, American Journal of Public Health (April 2000).
24. Mark A. Schuster et al., Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children, American Journal of Public Health (April 2000).
25. Department of the Treasury, United States Secret Service, An Interim Report on the Prevention of Targeted Violence in Schools (October 2000).
26. Miller, M, MD, MPH, ScD; Azrael, D, PhD; Hemenway, D, PhD; "Firearm Availability and Unintentional Firearm Deaths, Suicide, and Homicide among 5-14 Year Olds"; The Journal of TRAUMA Injury, Infection, and Critical Care; 2002; 267-275.
27. Injury Prevention Center, CT Children's Medical Center, CT Violent Injury Statistics System 2004 Report, p. 5
28. Injury Prevention Center, CT Children's Medical Center, CT Violent Injury Statistics System 2004 Report, p. 6.
29. Injury Prevention Center, CT Children's Medical Center, CT Violent Injury Statistics System 2004 Report, p. 5.