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Who Dies? A Look at Firearms Death and Injury in America�Revised Edition

Males and Firearms Violence

  • In 1996, 29,183 males were killed by guns: 12,014 in homicides, 15,808 in suicides, 1,004 in unintentional deaths, and 357 in deaths of unknown intent.

  • In 1996 firearms were the second leading cause of death for African-American males aged five to 14, and the leading cause of death among African- American males aged 15 to 24.

  • In 1996 the rate of firearms homicide was highest among males aged 20 to 24 (30.3 per 100,000)�more than five times higher than the firearms homicide rate for all Americans (6.0 per 100,000 in 1996).

  • In 1997, nearly one in 10 male high school students reported carrying a gun in the 30 days preceding the survey.

  • In 1996, firearms were used in nearly eight out of 10 suicides among men aged 65 and older (3,840 of 4,893 suicides or 78 percent).

Males are over six times as likely than females to be killed by a firearm. Firearm injury death rates are higher for males than females in all age groups�ranging from 1.3 times higher for those aged one to four years to 27.5 times higher for those 85 years of age and older.16 In 1996, 29,183 males were killed by guns: 12,014 in homicides, 15,808 in suicides, 1,004 in unintentional deaths, and 357 in deaths of unknown intent.17 Firearm death rates are extremely high among young males�particularly African-Americans. In 1996 firearms were the second leading cause of death for African-American males aged five to 14, and the leading cause of death among African-American males aged 15 to 24.18 In 1996, firearms also accounted for 64 percent of suicides among both white males and African-American males.19 Firearm suicide rates are highest among white and African-American males aged 20 to 24 and elderly white males 55 and older.20 Unintentional gun deaths have declined marginally for most groups, although rates among teenage African-American males rose during the early 1990s and have only decreased in the last two years.21 Teenage and young adult males are also increasingly falling victim to nonfatal firearms injury�particularly as the result of assaults.22 The reality of firearms violence among males is detailed below.


Young Males

Firearms play a major role in injury-related death in the United States, especially among teenage and young adult males.23 Tallying up murders, suicides, and unintentional shootings, the 1996 firearms death rate among male teenagers aged 15 to 19 (36.3 per 100,000) was nearly three times higher than the firearms death rate among all Americans (12.9 per 100,000).24 In 1996, the 4,370 firearm deaths among young males aged 20 to 24 (48.6 per 100,000) amounted to 12.8 percent of all firearm deaths in America, yet this age group represented only 3.4 percent of the total population.25 This increased risk of death among teens and young adults is primarily due to increased availability of firearms, particularly handguns.

Several studies have indicated a high rate of handgun accessibility among youth in urban communities�particularly males.26 One study concluded, �The reported frequency of carrying weapons, discharging firearms, and firearm injuries among family members or close friends suggests that handguns are not only accessible but frequently used.�27 A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of youth risk behavior revealed that in 1997 nearly one in 10 male high school students reported carrying a gun in the 30 days preceding the survey and that African-American (16.3 percent) and Hispanic (16.9 percent) male students were more likely than other students to do so.28 However, low socioeconomic status, rather than race, has been found to account for access to firearms29 and higher homicide rates.30


Homicide

The United States has the highest male teen homicide rate in the industrialized world (23.0 per 100,00 among males aged 15 to 19 in 1996).31 A 1997 study that compared firearm death rates in 26 industrialized countries among children less than 15 years old found that the firearms homicide rate among U.S. children was nearly 16 times higher than the rate among children in the other 25 industrialized countries combined.32 In 1996 the rate of firearms homicide was highest among males aged 20 to 24 (30.3 per 100,0000)�more than five times the firearms homicide rate for all Americans (6.0 per 100,000).33

African-American34 and Hispanic35 youths in America's cities36 are disproportionately victims of firearms homicide. In 1996 homicide ranked as one of the top five causes of death for Hispanic males aged one to 44, and ranked as the leading cause of death among African-American males aged 15 to 24.37


Suicide

From 1952 through 1992, the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled. Most of this increase can be attributed to the increased use of firearms.38 In 1996 the rate of firearms suicide was highest among males aged 20 to 24 (15.9 per 100,0000)�more than double the firearms suicide rate for all Americans (6.3 per 100,000).39

Firearms suicide has increased dramatically among young white males. From 1979 to 1996, the firearms suicide rate more than doubled for white males aged 10 to 14�from 0.6 per 100,000 in 1979 to 1.4 per 100,000 in 1996.40

While the overall number of firearm suicides is much lower in the African-American community, the rate of firearms suicide among teenage African-American males aged 15 to 19 escalated so rapidly between 1979 (3.6 per 100,000) and 1994 (13.9 per 100,000) that in 1994 it even surpassed the historically higher rate for young white males (13.3 per 100,000). In 1996, the firearms suicide rate among both African-American (9.2 per 100,000) and white males (10.5 per 100,000) aged 15 to 19 declined.41


Elderly Males

Suicide

Although firearms suicide among the elderly has received little attention, white males aged 65 and older are more likely than any other age group to commit suicide with firearms�even more so than adolescents and young adults.42 In his article, "Older Adults: The Next Suicide Epidemic?," researcher John McIntosh predicts that the number and proportion of elderly suicide victims will continue to rise over time�from one in every five suicides in the 1980s to one in every three individuals who kill themselves by the year 2030.43

Between 1979 and 1996, 103,503 Americans aged 65 and older took their own lives.44 Firearms were the most prevalent method of suicide used by both men and women during that time (67 percent). In 1996, firearms were used in nearly eight out of 10 suicides among men aged 65 and older.45 National Center for Health Statistics data reveals that in 1996 the 3,840 firearm suicides among males 65 years of age and older (27.7 per 100,000) amounted to 21 percent of all firearm suicides, yet this age group represented only five percent of the total population.46

White males 85 years of age and older experience strikingly high rates of firearms suicide. Rates of firearms suicide among this age group rose 91 percent from 27.7 per 100,000 in 1979 to a record high of 52.8 per 100,000 in 1993.47 The firearms suicide rate among white males 85 years of age and older (48.7 per 100,000 in 1996) represented the highest rate of any group�more than seven-and-a-half times higher than the firearms suicide rate for all Americans (6.3 per 100,000 in 1996).48


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