One in 5 People have a member of the family killed by weapons: survey

One in 5 American adults have a member of the family who was killed by a gun — together with by suicide — and an analogous proportion mentioned they’ve been threatened with one, in line with a survey launched Tuesday.  

Gun-related violence — together with mass shootings, suicides and accidents — has turn out to be so frequent in the US that 84 p.c of US adults say they’ve taken precautions to guard themselves and their households from the hazard of being shot, in line with well being analysis group KFF, which launched the survey.

A couple of third of these surveyed mentioned they’ve averted massive crowds on account of the potential of gun violence. Some 29 p.c have purchased firearms to guard themselves and their households.

Learn Subsequent

The information was launched at some point after the newest mass taking pictures to hit the nation, at a financial institution in Louisville, Kentucky, left 5 lifeless. Governor Andy Beshear mentioned one of many victims was “an unimaginable good friend” of his.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg detailed how he was shot at throughout his election marketing campaign final yr.

On March 27, three kids and three adults had been shot lifeless at a main college in Nashville, Tennessee.  

In keeping with the Gun Violence Archive, 11,631 individuals have been killed by weapons to this point in 2023, together with 4,965 by murder, accidents and incidents of defensive gun use, and 6,666 by suicide. 

In 2022, the group mentioned, 20,249 individuals died in homicidal, unintended or defensive shootings. Greater than 24,000 used weapons to kill themselves.

KFF mentioned 41 p.c of American adults stay in households the place there’s a gun current — and in 44 p.c of these houses, the weapon is stored in an unlocked location.

Black and Hispanic People reported much more experiences understanding somebody who was shot, and customarily feeling threatened by gun violence, than white People did.

Three out of 10 Black adults had personally seen somebody being shot, the survey mentioned, greater than twice the speed for white adults.

KFF’s information was primarily based on a survey of 1,271 adults taken throughout mid-March.

pmh/nro/st

Learn Subsequent