U.S. gun death rates hit highest levels in decades, study says

Yes, I know gun threads have been done to death on this message board. I am adding this because it is a new, and comprehensive data point (see article below).

The U.S. gun death rate last year hit its highest mark in nearly three decades, and the rate among women has been growing faster than that of men, according to study published Tuesday.

I think it is safe to say more guns and “good guy with a gun” are a myth as a means to a better society.

(Mods…move to GD or wherever if you want)

Now now, let’s not ruin a primary conservative talking point with facts.

I wonder how this compares to homicide rates overall for the same period.

Hidden in those numbers are the fact that 54% of those “gun deaths” were suicides- and the suicide rate climbed during covid. 43% were homicides ( some of which were self-defense and police shootings).

How has the rate of U.S. gun deaths changed over time?

While 2020 saw the highest total number of gun deaths in the U.S., this statistic does not take into account the nation’s growing population. On a per capita basis, there were 13.6 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2020 – the highest rate since the mid-1990s, but still well below the peak of 16.3 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 1974.

However, over 70% of all homicides in the USA did involve a firearm, so there certainly are issues there. Hopefully Bidens new gun laws will reduce these rates once they take effect. And of course covid isolation seem over, and that was one of the biggest contributing factors.

The high point in homicides was back in the 1970s.

The OP was a good post until the unneeded -

That sort of comment makes this thread headed towards GD and yet another “gun control debate”.

Usually the perpetrators of mass shootings end up dead, but I do wonder why so many choose AR-15s. Is there some kind of psycho thing going on? You can get large magazines for other rifles as well.

Black guys seem to have joined what used to be an exclusive White guy thing. I wonder why they took so long to join.

But not hidden is the use of guns.

That’s a tricky one.

On the one hand, the OP has recently published info. A discussion of that would be appropriate for MPSIMS.

On the other hand, the OP has this:

And later posts this:

This gets into the overall gun debate, which is well beyond the scope of an MPSIMS thread about recent statistics.

The overall topic of gun control is best suited for GD. However, the OP is poorly framed as a debate. In the past we would have simply moved this to GD, but this has often caused issues since a poorly framed OP usually results in a poor debate.

As such, I think it is best to leave the thread where it is, but I am also going to restrict the thread to discussion of the statistics. If you wish to engage in the gun control debate in a more general sense, please do so in one of the many existing gun control threads.

Aren’t Bidens Gun Laws aimed at Assault Weapons, and AR-15 style rifles used in only 10% of homicides? And odds are the people who want to commit murder would just use some other gun.

I recall from many years ago, a statistic that hanging and drugs were the main choices for suicides in the UK, farmers tended to be the only people who used shotguns.

It seems reasonable to deduce that when it comes to killing one’s self, the choice of method will be heavily influenced by what is available, and since few people in the UK have access to firearms, that is not an option. In the USA, where there are more guns than people, firearms are bound to be the popular choice.

It’s 3% (For all so called “ASSUALT RIFLES” not just AR’s) based on data available, and 1% for shotguns and 59% handguns. 37% use some other unclassified firearm.
People need to put this into perspective when they start howling about banning things!

Nevermind. I’m 20 beers in and told myself to shut up about this dumb shit.

Also hidden in those numbers is the fact that the gun murder rate (per 100k) went from 3.6 in 2013 to 6.2 in 2020.

US rates of suicide per 100k by method

Does poisoning include things like over-dosing on sleeping pills? (I assume it does)

Those are his new ideas, which have not been solidified. The earlier law, that was actually passed, makes it harder for bad guys to buy guns, and help with Red Flag laws., etc, all good things