Date: Sat, 15 Jul 95 02:51 EST From: Peter Nesbitt <0005111312@mcimail.com> To: Firearms Alert Subject: INFO: Trauma Foundation (fact sheets). This file was prepared by: Peter D. Nesbitt President NRA Members' Council of Fairfield/Suisun P.O. Box 1171 Suisun, CA 94585 707-429-2871 voice 707-486-5128 cellular 707-427-1310 fax =========================================================================== Do you know who the enemy is? Do you know what the enemy is up to? Do you know what sort of propaganda the enemy is distributing? You need to know about the enemy in order to engage and defeat them. Read on! Peter D. Nesbitt =========================================================================== July 5, 1995 Dear Sir, Thank you for your recent letter in which you expressed interest in SB 933, a bill that would have banned the manufacture and sale of Saturday Night Specials in California. As you probably know by now, the Committee vote was tied 4-4 (as was the first vote), thus, effectively killing the bill in Committee. For your general information, I am enclosing some facts about firearm-related violence. Again, thank you for letting us know of your interest in SB 933. Sincerely, [signed] Andrew McGuire Executive Director AM/db Enclosures Firearm-Related Violence Facts in Brief In 1991, 38,325 Americans were killed with firearms - 105 Americans every day. o 18,549 (48.4%) were suicides o 17,783 (46.4%) were homicides o 1,418 (3.7%) were unintentional o 345 (.9%) were undetermined o 230 (.6%) were legal intervention (1) It is estimated that approximately seven non-fatal firearms injuries occur for each fatal injury reported. (2) More Californians die from gun-shot wounds than in car crashes. In 1992, there were 5,184 firearm related deaths and 4,185 motor vehicle deaths. (3) Approximately 37% of the 1992 firearm-related deaths in California were young people between the ages of ten and twenty-five. (4) In California, of the 3,920 homicides, 2,839 (72%) were committed with a firearm as were 43,635 (22%) of the 197,970 total aggravated assaults and 50,121 (38%) of the total 130,867 robberies. (5) In 1992, 1,960 suicides in California were committed with firearms, and 308 (almost 16%) of all gun suicide deaths involved young people between the ages of 10 and 25. (6) Having a gun in the home increases the likelihood of homicide occuring nearly three-fold and suicide five-fold. (7) (8) Nationwode, domestic manufacturing and foreign importation of handguns reached an all time hight in 1992. In 1992, Californians legally purchased an average of 1,000 handguns daily. (9) Only certain guns specified in the National Firearms Act of 1934 must be registered with the federal government. Handguns, which were used in 81% of the gun homicides in 1992, do not need to be registered. (10) There are 248,000 federal firearm licensees in America - over 10,000 more than in 1975. 74% of the licensees run their businesses out of their homes. (11) (12) The rate of youth suicide is lower in populations that have fewer guns due to more restrictive gun control laws. (13) (14) A 1993 public opinion survey of California voters found that people view controlling the sale of handguns (42%) as much more effective than building more jails (19%) for reducing violence. (15) References 1. Centers for Disease Control. WONDER system. Compressed Mortality, 1991. 2. Rice DP, MacKenzie EJ, and Associates. Cost of injury in the United States: a report to congress. San Francisco, CA and Baltimore, MD Institute for Health and Aging, University of California Injury Prevention Center, The Johns Hopkins University; 1989. 3. CA Dept. of Health Services, Death Records. Microcomputer Injury Surveillance System. 1992 Mortality Data. 4. Ibid. 5. CA Department of Justice, Crime and Deliquency in California, 1992. Sacramento: CA Dept. of Justice, 1993. 6. CA Dept. of Health Services, Microcomputer Injury Surveillance System. 1991 Mortality Data. 7. Kellerman AL, Rivara FP, Somes G, Reay D. Francisco J. Suicide in the home in relation to gun ownership. N Eng J Med 1992;327:467. 8. Kellerman AL, Rivara FP, Rushforth NB, Banton JG, Reay DT et al. Gun ownership as a risk factor for homicide in the home, N Eng J Med 1993;329:1084-1091. 9. Average derived from the Automated Firearms system DROS count by county 1986 through March 1993. 10. FBI. Crime in the United States. Uniform Crime Reports, 1992. Washington, D.C., U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1993. 11. Conversation with Brian Hunneberry, BATF Public Affairs Office. March 1, 1994. 12. Compliance operation fact book. ATF Office of Compliance Operations, Washington, D.C. 10/91. Chap. 2-Firearms Programs; and Shapshot Inspections. BATF, Firearms and Explosives Division, Final Results, 4/20/93. 13. Brent DA, Perper JA, et al. The presence and accessibility of firearms in the homes of adolescent suicides: a case-control study. JAMA, 1991; 266(21):2989. 14. Sloan JH, Rivara FP, Reay DT, et al. Firearm regulations and rates of suicide: a comparison of two metropolitan areas. N Engl J Med. 1990. 322:369-373. 15. EDK and Associates. Violence prevention in California: a qualitative and quantitative study of Californians' attitudes towards violence prevention. July 1993. Firearm-Related Violence Cost In the U.S., the societal cost of firearm injuries was $20.4 billion in 1990. This figure breaks down as $1.4 billion for emergency, hospital, medical and rehabilitative care, $1.6 billion for lost productivity due to illness and temporary and permanent disability, and $17.4 billion for lost productivity due to premature death. (1) An analysis of firearm mortality data from 1985 reveals that California has approximately 12% of all firearm injuries nationally. (2) (3) In light of the national cost estimate by Max and Rice, the cost of firearm injuries in California for 1990 would have been approximately $2.44 billion. Hospitilization for gun injuries is costly. The average cost for one hospitalized gunshot wound patiane is $33,000. Gunshot would victims require long recovery times and spend two times longer in the hospital than stabbing victims. (4) The average cost of treating a child wounded by gunfire could provide a student with a year of college education. Researchers surveyed hospital discharges from 44 acute care children's hospitals and found that in 1991 the average hospital charges for gunshot wounds to children were $14.434, roughly the annual cost of tuition, room and board at a private college. (5) 80% of the medical cost for firearms injuries is paid for by taxpayers. (6) References 1. Max W. Rice DP. Shooting in the dark: estimating the cost of firearm injuries. Health Affairs. 1993; 12 (4): 171-185. 2. Martin MJ, Hunt TK, Hulley SB. The cost of hospitilization of firearm injuries. JAMA. 1988: 260(20):3048-3050. 3. California Dept. of Health Services. Vital Statistics of California, 1985. Sacramento, CA. September 1987. 4. Rice DP, MacKenzie EJ, and Associates. Cost of injury in the United States: a report to congress. San Francisco, CA: Institute for Health and Aging. University of California Injury Prevention Center. The Johns Hopkins University. 1989. 5. Gun Wound Costs Equal a Year of College. The Nation's Health, January 1994, - citing National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, Inc. 6. Wintemute GJ, Wright MA. Initial and subsequent hospital costs of firearms injuries. The J of Trauma. 1992;33:556-560. The following names and address information was listed on the TRAUMA FOUNDATION letterhead: BOARD OF DIRECTORS Andrew McGuire, Executive Director Ray Gatchalian David Grubb Penny Marshall Gary Mason Graham Moody Paul O'Rourke, MD William Schecter, MD Nancy Snyderman, MD Sylvia Villarreal, MD FOUNDER Donald D. Trunkey, MD San Francisco General Hospital San Francisco, CA 94110 415-821-8209 voice or TDD 415-282-2563 Fax 7137 Waite Drive, Suite 4 La Mesa, CA 91941 619-462-6857 619-462-8257 fax 2140 Shattuck Ave., Suite 1206 Berkeley, CA 94704 510-649-8942 510-649-8970 Fax [end]