Last week, Slate published this short news item, looking at how firearm deaths have begun to outpace motor vehicle deaths in ten states, including Arizona. Using data from 2009, Washington, D.C.’s Violence Policy Center released a report in May that shows Arizona had 856 gun-related deaths to 809 vehicle-related deaths that year.
This led me to wonder what the gun-death numbers are in Arizona from year to year, and how those relate to national figures—and the answer, found via the CDC’s Fatal Injury Report database, didn’t surprise me.
Between 2001 and 2010, Arizona has had 9,117 gun deaths—a rate of 15.48 deaths per 100,000 over that time span. The national average over the same time was 10.33 per 100,000. In 2010 alone, Arizona’s gun death rate was 14.57, compared to the national rate of 10.26.
The thing is, 2010 was a bounce-back year for gun-related deaths: the 931 deaths reported that year reversed the trend of decline that we had experienced since the high of 982 gun deaths in ’06, dropping to a low of 856 deaths in ’09.
2010 was also the year that Arizona began to allow permit-less concealed carry—an interesting coincidence.
We won’t know more about the possible relationship between Arizona’s gun deaths and the CCW law until mid-2013, when the CDC will release 2011’s statistics. Maybe it’s an aberration—but then again, maybe not. ‘Til then, just some food for thought.
This article appears in Dec 20-26, 2012.
There are many ways to consider gun ownership in USA. Consider Alec Wilkinson’s quick and powerful unmasking of it in a personal narrative:
The Dark Presence of Guns
at:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/news…
NB paragraph four…
Yah, you are right. Its one way and not the only way.
The gun death rate in Canada is .5 per 100,000. Meaning Arizona’s gun death rate is 32 times that of Canada. Different universe.
This should be a NO SPIN ZONE by the staff writers!
While I understand it’s just a snippet of information and the writer is clear that the data is inconclusive…a lot of trends in Arizona make me wonder about my long held desire to return to Tucson. I am a UA alum, lived and r daughter currently attends there. We always hoped to return but the state’s policies and politics are becoming synonymous with crazy. Lately we are talking that if we do returnit will have to be as political activists trying to move the state back to center (funny how “not right wing nuts” a goldwater republican looks these days).
Arizona gun laws are just a part of it’s culture problem.
With God-given FREEDOM to kill should come great responsibility for the act. I suggest a life in prison for anyone who shoots an unarmed person. If someone shoots an armed adult, a policy like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will allow consenting adults to get their Second Amendment Rights on. Or second childhood. Or Red Dawn fantasy or whatever.
If gun nuts are going to be strict constructionist regarding the Constitutional right to bear arms, then they are only entitled to a breech filled musket and nothing invented since the 17th Century. The only gun available when the Constitution was adopted were single shot muskets. If the Constitution is so sacrosanct and unchanging then so should be the “arms” covered by the 2nd Amendment.
I can only hope that Tom Horne and his ilk are among next years batch of gun deaths. I would rather home school my child than arm teachers, or to turn public schools into armed fortresses and compounds with armed guards. That doesn’t seem conducive to learning.
Just think what the vehicle-to-gun-death ratio would be if the AZ Legislature had not raised the speed limit.
judgeharoldlee, if a musket was all that was availible therefore limiting gun ownership to that then free speech does not apply on the internet or CNN, MSN since it was not around back then. You should be limited to standing on a soapbox in the center of town.
Judgeharoldlee I should also add that if we held strict like you say, abortion would be illegal, blacks would not be able to vote, only rich land owners could vote, states could make contraception illegal, states could forbid blacks and whites to marry and illegal alien babies would not be able to become citizens. It is part of the informal amendment process. It does change with the times via the Supreme Court. You anti gun nuts are clueless.
In Arizona, what is the Injuries and Deaths from Guns ratio?
Nationally,
Everytime a gun injures or kills in self-defense, one is used:
11 times for a completed or attempted suicide
7 times in a criminal assault or homicide
4 times in an unintentional shooting death or injury
Is it bad guys killing bad guys because of the drug war on the border, or is it stupid people unintentionally killing people? Committing suicide? Legit self defense?
Even though Tucson is kind of the “liberal “bastion for the state of Arizona, it is getting harder and harder to live here. For years, much of the retirement and resort business came from North-easterners that regarded Arizona a “hip” place. That is rapidly changing, the people in that corridor are more and more starting to regards Arizona as kind of a “Alabama with Cactus” kind of place where “Yahoo’s Rule” . Our lawmakers and the “pro-gun”, anti-abortion” and “anit-imigration” forces in Maricopa County that dominate our state government, along with our “national embarrassment” governor, are scaring away the businesses and talent that could help Arizona grow in a positive way.