If guns made us safer, the United States would be the safest country in the world. With 88 guns for every 100 Americans, the U.S. leads the world in domestic arms ownership.
In Minnesota, 48% of household contain at least one firearm. The majority are kept for sport, a small proportion for "protection." About 30% percent of Minnesotans claim they keep firearms for both sport and protection.
But do guns make us safer?
Public health research which has emerged in the past decade suggests that gun ownership actually increases the risk of injury. A 1998 study in the Journal of Trauma showed that a gun in the home is more likely to be used by against family member than against an intruder--11 times more likely to be used in a suicide, 7 times more likely to be used in a domestic assault and 4 times more likely to unintentionally injure.
Research from Johns Hopkins University and the Harvard School of Public Health indicate that states where guns are more prevalent suffer higher rates of firearm-related injury in every category, even among children.
Fear of crime
Movies, television and even the news present a distorted picture of crime. As a result, citizens worry most about violent crime such as rape, murder and assault. In fact, 93% of crime in Minnesota is crime against property. Larceny is the most common crime with an average of 319 incidents per day. Theft from auto, the most frequent form of larceny, is largely a crime of opportunity.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, "In Minnesota, only a minority of crimes reported involve a confrontation that could lead to personal injury...you're much more likely to have your property stolen than your life threatened."
Violent crime is relatively rare in Minnesota. Additionally, most murders and assaults happen between individuals known to each other. In 2001, of the 111 Minnesota homicide victims:
- 24% were murdered by a member of their nuclear family
- 63% were murdered by another family member or friend or relative
- 6% were murdered by strangers
- in 7% the relationship was unknown
Crime prevention specialists do not recommend guns for self protection. Handguns can present very serious safety considerations around the home. Keeping a weapon loaded and accessible is especially dangerous for households with children. A handgun can be used against you in an attack if it is taken away. Nationally, thousands of unsecured guns are stolen in residential burglaries each year.
It makes sense and intuitively and research supports the premise: more guns=more gun death and injury. Guns do not make us safer.
Reference list:
- Kellerman, et al., Injuries and deaths due to firearms in the home. J. Trauma, 1998, Aug;45(2):263-7
- Miller, et al., Firearm availability and Unintentional Firearm Deaths, Suicide and Homicide among 5-14 Year Olds. J. Trauma, 2002;52:267-75
- Duberstein, et al, Access to firearms and risk for suicide in middle-age and older adults. Am. J. Ger. Psych, 2002, Jul-Aug; 10(4):407-16
Resource list:
- For every self-defense use of a firearm in the home, there are 11 suicides, 7 homicides and 4 unintentional shootings. -Journal of Trauma, August, 1998
- Instead of conferring protection, keeping a gun in the home is associated with an increased risk of both suicide and homicide. -Archives of Internal Medicine, 1997
- Among high-income countries, where firearms are more available, more women are homicide victims. Women n the U.S. are at a higher risk of homicide victimization than are women in any other high-income country. -Journal of American Medical Women's Association, 2002
- A disproportionately high number of 5-14 year olds died from suicide, homicide and unintentional firearm deaths in states and regions where guns were more prevalent. -Journal of Trauma, February, 2002
- States with the highest levels of gun ownership had, on average, 9 times the rate of unintentional firearm deaths compared to states with lowest gun levels. -Accid Anal Prev, July 2001
- Between 1988 and 1997, the suicide, homicide, and unintentional firearm death rates among women were disproportionately higher in states where guns were more prevalent. -Journal of Urban Health, March, 2002
- In the United States, regions with higher levels of household handgun ownership have higher suicide rates. -Injury Prevention, February, 2002
- Reducing the aggregate level of gun availability may decrease the risk of firearm-related deaths. -Social Science Medicine, May 1998
- To the extent that homicide frequently occurs spontaneously among young men in public places, it's the carrying of firearms, rather than their ownership, that is the immediate proximate cause of criminal injury. - Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1980