In this case, I set aside these concerns because too many young people are injured or killed by people using firearms or kill themselves with firearms, and I wanted to represent responsible gun owners in the project. I assume my contribution is uncontroversial.
I will post my full comments to the WaPo/Ad Council in a later Substack FYI.
I think with unintentional deaths that is the case. Would have to look at gunshot deaths with teens. I think the big numbers include intentional teen on teen shootings. And, suicides, which presumably are intentional.
And suicides. I'm not onboard with calling them "gun violence." They certainly are gun deaths, but suicides should be broken out separately. If they didn't use a gun - they probably would use another method (although the success rate is higher for guns than other methods).
Suicide by gun is certainly violent. But I also get a little tired of the "gun violence" terminology, as I think it is designed to forever associate guns with wrongful violence as a political strategy.
It helps to look at Canada. They have wildly different gun laws, and yet the last time I looked, which I think was in 2007, they had a higher suicide rate per capita. Guns are not so prevalent, so people intent on suicide use other means. Rope/hanging being high on the list. In Toronto, throwing oneself in front of a commuter train was also high on the list. That doesn't say anything about public transit, except that it is available in Toronto.
Sorry, this is not meant as a criticism to you David. As you know, I just view this as part of the gun control narrative. I do not use the term and it is a line in the sand for me. I am not discounting the negatives of firearms. I am not using the language of the anti 2A crowd though.
David: Couldn't agree more that firearm education and that securing firearms are incredibly important to creating a safer environment regarding firearms across the board. The Ad Council certainly chose an awesome person to help them craft their message.
Question regarding the image you included in your post from the Ad Council stating "Gun injuries are the NUMBER ONE killer of children and teens in the US." My understanding is that this only becomes a true statement only when "and teens" is added. When you add 18 and 19 year old young adults to the statistics a very different dynamic is brought into the discussion. A discussion that certainly needs to occur!
In my opinion, presenting this image without the necessary background information perpetuates a narrative that doesn't capture the complexities of a situation where education and safe storage MAY not have the impact on the "teen" group as they would on children.
To Tom and others weighing in on this, I have raised concerns about the rhetoric of "number one cause of death of children and teens" before, on this Substack (https://lightoverheat.substack.com/p/a-gun-is-not-fun), on my blog (https://gunculture2point0.com/2022/04/26/current-causes-of-death-in-children-and-adolescents-in-the-united-states/), and in GUN CURIOUS (https://guncurious.com/).
In this case, I set aside these concerns because too many young people are injured or killed by people using firearms or kill themselves with firearms, and I wanted to represent responsible gun owners in the project. I assume my contribution is uncontroversial.
I will post my full comments to the WaPo/Ad Council in a later Substack FYI.
I thought the number one cause of death of children and teens was accidents? Primarily automobiles/motorcycles.
If you include gang killings, and you include 18-year-olds in your definition of children... you might get there.
The continued false claim that firearms are the leading cause of death for children or teens, now from the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy https://crimeresearch.org/2024/06/the-continued-false-claim-that-firearms-are-the-leading-cause-of-death-for-children-or-teens-now-from-the-u-s-surgeon-general-dr-vivek-murthy/
It's accidents. They strangely parse the data as ages 1-17 though.
See CDC data here: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/adolescent-health.htm
I think with unintentional deaths that is the case. Would have to look at gunshot deaths with teens. I think the big numbers include intentional teen on teen shootings. And, suicides, which presumably are intentional.
And suicides. I'm not onboard with calling them "gun violence." They certainly are gun deaths, but suicides should be broken out separately. If they didn't use a gun - they probably would use another method (although the success rate is higher for guns than other methods).
Suicide by gun is certainly violent. But I also get a little tired of the "gun violence" terminology, as I think it is designed to forever associate guns with wrongful violence as a political strategy.
It is a political/marketing strategy. Who isn't against reducing "gun violence," right?
The prior term was "gun control" - and that didn't work for them.
OK. Change the name or phenomenon and suggest some ideas for making the situation better.
It helps to look at Canada. They have wildly different gun laws, and yet the last time I looked, which I think was in 2007, they had a higher suicide rate per capita. Guns are not so prevalent, so people intent on suicide use other means. Rope/hanging being high on the list. In Toronto, throwing oneself in front of a commuter train was also high on the list. That doesn't say anything about public transit, except that it is available in Toronto.
Yes. Even a complete ban on firearms in the United States would not eliminate suicide. Japan and South Korea are counter examples. https://gunculture2point0.com/2023/04/16/further-exploring-american-exceptionalism-via-the-global-burden-of-disease-study-suicide/
Unfortunate name they picked. "Gun violence" .
Sorry, this is not meant as a criticism to you David. As you know, I just view this as part of the gun control narrative. I do not use the term and it is a line in the sand for me. I am not discounting the negatives of firearms. I am not using the language of the anti 2A crowd though.
Good show! And I recall the old expression, "no good deed will go unpunished". Have you gotten any feedback yet?
David: Couldn't agree more that firearm education and that securing firearms are incredibly important to creating a safer environment regarding firearms across the board. The Ad Council certainly chose an awesome person to help them craft their message.
Question regarding the image you included in your post from the Ad Council stating "Gun injuries are the NUMBER ONE killer of children and teens in the US." My understanding is that this only becomes a true statement only when "and teens" is added. When you add 18 and 19 year old young adults to the statistics a very different dynamic is brought into the discussion. A discussion that certainly needs to occur!
In my opinion, presenting this image without the necessary background information perpetuates a narrative that doesn't capture the complexities of a situation where education and safe storage MAY not have the impact on the "teen" group as they would on children.
I'd be very interested in your take on this.
Keep up the great work you do!
Best Regards, Tracy