Gun Violence In America Essay

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Pages: 4

Guns in America are a very common practice and it is rooted in the foundation of the country with mention in the constitution. Gun violence is a major public health concern for America affecting all communities and cities. The violence from guns can be accidental, intentional through mass shootings and targeted attacks, and on an individual level through suicides done with the use of guns. Much of the violence in American could easily still happen even with the outlaw of guns in this country, which would be an almost impossible undertaking. Gun violence affects so many people within a community and is far more reaching than one may realize. If an individual commits suicide with a gun they have just affected loved ones and friends on a deep …show more content…
With that said there the United States averages 74,000 injures and 32,000 fatalities due to gun suicide and gun violence every year. That is just the start of the problem because all of those affected have families and friends and live in communities that have to deal with these issues. Where the problems come to attention are in larger metropolitan cities. In 2001, the leading cause of death among individuals living in Baltimore aged 15 to 24 was firearm homicide (Lewin, et al., 2005). This is a cornerstone age bracket for any community and to have the leading cause of death be from gun violence is shocking. It is fair to say communities like Baltimore are affected by gun violence either directly or indirectly on a daily basis. In 2002, the Baltimore Police Department, John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and Baltimore City Health Department launched the Youth Ammunition Initiative to help lower the illegal firearm ammunition sales to the city’s youth. The initiative was done by using different sting operations and by regulating the sale of ammunition and also by reducing the number of outlets that sold ammunition to residents (Lewin, et al., 2005). This was one local community that looked at the sale of ammunition to help reduce the gun violence to the