One ratio in gun violence keeps appearing
Gun violence has a large-reaching impact on the U.S. With a firearm homicide rate 25 times higher than any other high-income country, it is projected that nearly every American will know someone impacted by gun violence within the next decade. When looking at the statistics of gun violence in the U.S., one ratio in particular kept appearing: one in five. From firearm sales without a background check to Americans who have lost a family member to the epidemic of gun violence, firearm violence impacts roughly 20% of subgroups of the population — or the population at large — in a variety of ways.
1 in 5 people have lost a family member to gun violence
Every day, 111 people in the U.S. are killed by gun violence. Forty-two of them are murdered and 65 of them die by firearm suicide. In 2021 alone, 48,830 American lives were cut short due to gun violence — the highest number of firearm deaths ever recorded in our nation’s history and an 8% increase over the previous year.
Over the past few years, the U.S. has seen a rapid increase in the rate of firearm homicide deaths. In 2020, the firearm homicide rate increased by 35% over the previous year, and in 2021 the firearm homicide rate rose by an additional 8.1% over the previous year. At the same time, firearm suicide rates have increased, but at a slower pace (a 1.5% increase from 2019 to 2020 and another 8.4% increase from 2020 and 2021).
1 in 5 people have been injured by gun violence
On average, 76,725 people are shot and survive in the U.S. each year. Of that, 30,428 people are admitted to the hospital for firearm-related injuries. In 2020, over 43,000 patients were admitted to the hospital for firearm-related injuries — the highest number of people admitted in the past two decades. Historically, firearm assaults have accounted for the largest share of firearm injury-related hospitalizations. However, since 2019, the most common type of firearm injury that requires hospitalization is unintentional firearm injury.
Firearm injuries are highly concentrated in states with weak gun laws. The states with the highest levels of gun ownership experience an unintentional firearm mortality rate 7 times higher than in the states with the lowest levels of gun ownership. Further, the South — a region with notoriously weak gun laws — has the largest proportion of firearm-related hospital admissions at 41.4%. Meanwhile, the Northeast has the lowest proportion at 16.6%.
1 in 5 victims of intentional gun violence experience long-term disabilities
Injury by firearm is life-altering — financially, mentally, and physically. Those who sustain nonfatal firearm injuries are at an increased risk for chronic pain, limitations in body function, poorer health, psychiatric disorders, and substance abuse disorders.
On average, a patient recovering from firearm-related injuries will spend $32,700 on hospitalization costs within the first six months of treatment. Furthermore, nonfatal firearm injury survivors experienced a 51% increase in psychiatric disorders and an 85% increase in substance use disorders compared to those who did not sustain firearm injuries.
1 in 5 Black and Hispanic adults report constant fear of gun violence
Gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color. Black people in the U.S. are more than twice as likely to die from gun violence and 14 times more likely than white people to be wounded. Meanwhile, Hispanic and Latino people are over twice as likely to be killed by firearm homicide than white people. Black and Hispanic and Latino youth fare far worse. They are more than 11 times and almost 2.5 times more likely to die from firearm homicide than their white peers, respectively.
Young Black females (aged 15–34) specifically are over 6 times more likely to be killed by a firearm compared to their white counterparts. Young Hispanic and Latina females (aged 15–24) are almost 1.4 more likely to die by firearm homicide than their white peers.
1 in 5 Americans have been threatened by a gun
Armed intimidation impacts Americans in a variety of ways, from domestic violence to armed intimidation at the polling place to intimidate peers at school. Firearms are often used in domestic violence situations to intimidate an intimate partner. A study found that approximately 4.5 million women have been threatened with a firearm by an intimate partner. In 2019, 7% of high schoolers reported being threatened or injured by a firearm at school.
1 in 5 firearms sales are completed without a background check
Since Brady Background Checks became law in 1994, more than 4.4 million unlawful gun transfers and permits have been prevented. Since the Brady Background Checks became law, the rate of firearm homicides among those 12 years and older in the U.S. has decreased by 41% from 1993 through 2018. During the same time period, the rate of nonfatal firearm violence decreased by 69%.
Brady Background Checks only account for sales through federally licensed firearms dealers, which leaves huge gaps in sales at gun shows, private sales, and online gun sales; ending in 1 in 5 firearm sales occurring without a background check. A 2020 study found that when universal background checks on all handgun transfers and sales were implemented, there was a 19% decrease in Black firearm homicides.
1 in 5 children have handled a gun in the home without their parent's knowledge
As of April 2021, 30 million children live in a home with at least one firearm. Of that, 44.1% of firearm owners with children reported keeping their firearms locked and unloaded. Yet, 4.6 million children live in a home with at least one unlocked and loaded firearm.
When U.S. youth have easy access to firearms, the likelihood of firearm injury increases. There are approximately 350 unintentional shootings in which a child pulls the trigger every year. Additionally, 8 kids are unintentionally shot or killed every day.
