Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Gun Deaths On The Rise For People Under 25 As Car Deaths Fall

Refinery 29

Car-related deaths for folks under 25 are down, according to a study by the Center for Disease Control. The C.D.C. attributes this decline to "improved technology, tougher laws and less driving by young people," according to The Economist. 

The bad news is that the rate of deaths related to gun violence for the under-25 set is increasing, and it's actually on track to exceed car-related deaths. The majority of these deaths are suicides, accidents or domestic violence. Back in 2012, Bloomberg News estimated that "by 2015, firearm fatalities will probably exceed traffic fatalities for the first time, based on data compiled by Bloomberg."


Although the number of gun owners is down, there are almost as many guns as there are people in the United States. Government regulations on vehicles are more stringent than gun laws, especially since the National Rifle Association (which has plenty of pals in Congress) opposes some suggested safety features.  

3 comments:

  1. Hmm . . . "gun owners are down, gun violence is up." So, Mikeb, figured out a way to spin that negative correlation into support for your "fewer gun owners, less violence" dogma? Good luck with that.

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  2. Our future. Thank you NRA.

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  3. Here's the complete "gun death" (including suicides) for people under 25 from WISQARS:

    1999 7.39
    2000 7.05
    2001 7.05
    2002 7.1
    2003 7.08
    2004 6.72
    2005 7.02
    2006 7.32
    2007 7.03
    2008 6.77
    2009 6.35
    2010 6.28
    2011 6.37
    2012 6.53

    I guess you could say it's "up" since 2009, but longer term it is down. They never said what time frame they are talking about, but sticking with the "number of gun owners is down" I assume they are not looking at the short term.

    ...Or they are intentionally being inconsistent.

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