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WASHINGTON - July 12 - Children
and youth in the District of Columbia are far less likely than their peers
in the 50 states to be victims of firearm suicide, a new Violence Policy
Center (VPC) study reveals (please
follow this link for the full text of the study). The study finds
that NO District youths 16 years of age or younger died as the result
of firearm suicide during the years 2000 through 2002, the most recent
years for which data from the National Center for Injury Prevention and
Control's WISQARS database is available. In addition, during this period
there were no suicides by any other means by District youth in this age
group.
The study ranks gun
suicide rates among children and teens age 16 and younger for all of the
50 states and the District of Columbia. The 10 states with the highest
rates in the 16 and younger age group were Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming,
North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado.
These states all had rates that far exceeded the national average of 0.45
per hundred thousand (see list below). Gun
laws in all of these states can be characterized as extremely weak.
Firearm Suicide
Deaths and Rates Among Children and Youth 16 Years of Age and Younger,
2000 Through 2002, Ranked by Rate (Per 100,000 Population)
Alaska
Rank: 1
Number of Deaths: 14
Rate per 100,000: 2.61
Montana
Rank: 2
Number of Deaths: 15
Rate per 100,000: 2.40
Idaho
Rank: 3 (tie)
Number of Deaths: 15
Rate per 100,000: 1.43
Wyoming
Rank: 3 (tie)
Number of Deaths: 5
Rate per 100,000: 1.43
North Dakota
Rank: 5
Number of Deaths: 5
Rate per 100,000: 1.16
Nebraska
Rank 6
Number of Deaths: 14
Rate per 100,000: 1.12
South Dakota
Rank: 7
Number of Deaths: 6
Rate per 100,000: 1.07
Utah
Rank: 8
Number of Deaths: 21
Rate per 100,000: 1.02
New Mexico
Rank: 9
Number of Deaths: 14
Rate per 100,000: 0.98
Colorado
Rank: 10
Number of Deaths: 28
Rate per 100,000: 0.88
Washington, DC
Rank: 51
Number of Deaths: 0
Rate per 100,000: 0.00
VPC Legislative Director
Kristen Rand states, "This study shows that the District's ban on handguns
and assault weapons works to prevent youth suicide by keeping guns out
of D.C. homes. The findings highlight the sheer lunacy of Congressional
efforts to repeal D.C.'s tough laws. Congress would virtually be writing
a death sentence for some young people by repealing District laws that
are working to prevent youth suicide."
Legislation to repeal
the District's gun laws is pending in both the House (H.R. 1288, sponsored
by Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)) and the Senate (S. 1082, sponsored by Sen.
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)). The home states of the bills' sponsors also
had gun suicide rates for youth 16 years of age and younger that were
above the national average: 0.58 per 100,000 for Indiana and 0.53 per
100,000 for Texas. Last week, the U.S. House approved an amendment to
D.C.'s 2006 appropriations bill that prevents enforcement of the District's
safe storage and child safety lock requirements for firearms.
The Violence Policy Center is a
national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence
in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals.
The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research
on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related
death and injury.
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