Q&A of the Day – How Gun Related Deaths Compare to Other Causes of Death 

Q&A of the Day – How Gun Related Deaths Compare to Other Causes of Death 

Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.  

Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com  

Gettr, Parler & Twitter: @brianmuddradio  

iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station’s page in the iHeart app.     

Today’s entry: Submitted via talkback 

Bottom Line: What you’re referencing is generally correct. At the point where guns are involved in deaths, politics are inevitably involved as well. In response to what you said, it depends how you evaluate gun related deaths. If you choose to look at only those murdered via gunfire – you're correct. More people are killed via physical contact. If you include all gun involved deaths, that wouldn’t be the case. That’s because over half, 54%, of deaths involving gunfire are the result of suicide. Murders account for 43% of deaths involving guns. This reality, and how you choose to view it, is all part of the larger conversation and political challenge. Most 2A advocates view suicides independent of other gun involved deaths. Most fervent gun control activists don’t. So even with facts in hand there’s a high degree of subjectivity in these debates. It’s why I feel it’s especially important to establish facts and minimize hyperbole. For example, the popular term “gun-violence”, is itself grammatically incorrect. It's obviously impossible for an inanimate object to be violent. It’s a marketing ploy that’s been so successful news reporters bastardize the language and repeat the marketing ploy as a thing without blinking these days. It’s why three years ago I brought you BIN, or my initiative to “ban ignorance now”. As I stated then... 

The goal of BIN is to put an end to the epidemic of ignorance being perpetuated by the terms “gun violence” and “assault weapons”.  

Here’s the definition of the word, gun:  

• a weapon incorporating a metal tube from which bullets, shells, or other missiles are propelled by explosive force, typically making a characteristic loud, sharp noise. 

And here’s the definition of the word, violence: 

• behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. 

So, here’s the question. Is it possible for a gun to be violent? It’s not a trick question. There also, by definition, is no such thing as gun violence. It’s quite literally not possible. And I guess it makes sense that if you’re suggesting an inanimate object can be violent you might use a term like assault weapon. Not to rock the world of the ignorant and agenda driven but here’s the definition of weapon: 

weap·on 

noun 

• a thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage. 

Now, how’s it possible to use “a thing” to inflict harm and it not be “assaulting”? What would an example of a non-assault weapon be? Wouldn’t it just be easier and correct to say, “ban weapons”? Or most specifically guns since that’s what this is about? Oh, wait that’s right – that’d require being intellectually honest. 

Now, obviously that’s tongue-in-cheek. But the reason I brought it up then is the reason I’ve reintroduced it today. It’s often hard for honest discussions of facts, because there’s already a high degree of intellectual dishonesty when broaching this debate. Now does that mean there isn’t room for certain reforms? From my perspective there is when facts are considered. It’s why I was supportive of Florida’s reforms passed as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act, which introduced risk protection orders in addition to raising the legal age to purchase a firearm to 21 aside from those in law enforcement and the military. We’re four years into those reforms and they’ve proven effective thus far. Now, as part of this conversation, I thought it might be instructive to view the leading causes of death to see where gun related deaths factor in. 

Based on last year’s CDC data these are the top causes of death in order: 

1. Heart disease 
2. Cancer 
3. COVID-19 
4. Accidents 
5. Strokes 
6. Respiratory disease 
7. Alzheimer’s disease 
8. Diabetes 
9. Flu/Pneumonia 
10. Nephritis 

So, the first thing is, even if one counts suicide statistics in the gun death total – guns still aren’t close to being one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States. That said the number isn’t insignificant either. Here’s the gun related death breakout from last year’s totals: 

• 45,979 total (24,292 suicides, 19,384 murders, 611 law enforcement, 535 unintentional, 400 undetermined) 

There were 3,383,729 total deaths last year. That means guns were involved with 1.4% of all deaths. If we only view the issue through the prism of murders that falls to 0.6% of deaths. So, in context, the reality likely doesn’t equal the extent of the sensationalism. For example, have you ever in your life heard reports of a nephritis epidemic? Have you ever even heard nephritis mentioned in a report before now? And yet far more people die from it than all gun involved deaths annually. At the same time, guns are a popular murder weapon of choice and it makes sense to be diligent to reduce the likelihood of guns falling into the hands of those who might act out with them. Given extensive evidence of behavior over the years, there are clear profiles of who those people tend to be. Young, male, social outcasts, mentally unstable, etc. It’s hard to present pragmatism when so much emotion is involved, and this issue is more emotional than most for many. As always, there remain two sides to stories and one side to facts. These are the facts.