Moms Demand Action

As we begin today, Wednesday, October 26, we are starting the 300th day of 2016.  Due to the leap year, there will be a total of 366 days this year.  So with 299 days behind us, and 67 left to complete, it seems a perfect time to evaluate some numbers.

Readers that follow my page on Facebook already know about the work being done by the good people at  Gun Violence Archive.   For those that unfamiliar with it, they are attempting to collect the information on gun violence in the United States that our Congress has forbidden any government organization to track.

Gun Violence Archive (GVA) is a not for profit corporation formed in 2013 to provide online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States. GVA will collect and check for accuracy, comprehensive information about gun-related violence in the U.S. and then post and disseminate it online, primarily if not exclusively on this website and summary ledgers at www.facebook.com/gunviolencearchive. It is hoped that this information will inform and assist those engaged in discussions and activities concerning gun violence, including analysis of proposed regulations or legislation relating to gun safety usage. All we ask is to please provide proper credit for use of Gun Violence Archive data and advise us of its use.

GVA is not, by design an advocacy group. The mission of GVA is to document incidents of gun violence and gun crime nationally to provide independent, verified data to those who need to use it in their research, advocacy or writing.

 

As of 12:01 AM Central Time this morning, they had the following tally of this years gun violence incidents:

 

At this point, we need to break those numbers down to add some perspective:

 

• On average, there has been over 155 gun related incidents every single day this year in the United States.
• An average of 40 people die every day as a result of these incidents, while 83 more are injured.
• Each day, over 10 of those injured or killed are under the age of 17, two of them, every day, are aged 11 or under.
• There is a mass shooting, on average, at least once a day, at our current rate, by the time this year is over there will have been roughly 380 such events.   For tracking purposes Gun Violence Archive classifies any shooting in which 4 or more victims, not including the shooter, have been injured or killed.
• Almost once per day, an law enforcement officer will be injured or killed in a shooting somewhere in the United States, while 5 suspects will be injured or killed by police officers firing upon them.
• Over 6 home invasion related shootings occur on a daily basis along with 5 defensive use of a weapon shooting incidents.
• More than 5 accidental weapons discharge incidents occur every single day.

There are things you can do to help.   Get involved with organizations like Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America; get out and vote for candidates and ballot initiatives that will enable universal background checks, elimination of straw-man loopholes for purchases, owner responsibility for crimes committed with their weapons, and requirements for guns to be properly secured in homes where children would have access  to them.

 

Finally, remember, two things, if a responsible gun owner is following the simple safety guidelines outlined by the National Rifle Association itself then there are no accidental shootings or unsupervised toddlers gaining access to unsecured weapons in their homes.   And if we accept that premise then each and every irresponsible gun owner should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.