Certainly. Here’s what the provided HTML and text content is about:Certainly. Here’s what the provided HTML and text content is about: The provided HTML contains a series of paragraphs discussing gun violence in the United States. 1. The first paragraph explains that the Surgeon General’s declaration of gun violence as a public health crisis has both policy and political outcomes. The policy outcome is that it focuses attention and resources on combating gun violence, while the political outcome is that it shows voters that action is being taken on a problem that is often seen as intractable. 2. The second paragraph points out that American gun violence is not just about mass shootings, but also about people using firearms to commit suicide, with wide variations across the country. 3. The third paragraph provides data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on firearm-related deaths in the United States. The data shows that most of these deaths are the result of suicide, with the percentage of firearm deaths due to suicide increasing in 2022. 4. The fourth paragraph discusses the variation in firearm deaths relative to state populations, with some states having high gun deaths relative to their populations and others having relatively few. 5. The fifth paragraph compares firearm deaths to overdose deaths, noting that the recent increase in firearm deaths pales in comparison to the increase in overdose deaths. 6. The sixth paragraph discusses the declaration of overdose deaths due to opioids as a public health emergency in 2017 and provides data on the ratio of overdose deaths to firearm deaths. 7. The seventh paragraph presents preliminary CDC data indicating that firearm deaths in the United States declined by 5 percent in 2023, while overdose deaths declined by 3 percent. 8. The final paragraph acknowledges that there are still tens of thousands of gun deaths every year and that there is still a political motivation to focus the nation’s attention on those deaths. In summary, the provided text and HTML content provide a comprehensive overview of gun violence in the United States, including data on firearm-related deaths, the role of suicide in gun violence, variations in gun deaths across the country, and comparisons to overdose deaths.
As is the case with many official actions that originate in the executive branch of government, Tuesday’s declaration by Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy that gun violence constitutes a public health crisis achieves both a policy outcome and a political outcome. The policy outcome is that this move focuses both attention and resources on efforts to combat gun violence. The political outcome, as The Washington Post has noted, is that voters see at least some action on a problem seen as intractable.
But American gun violence isn’t just about the mass shootings that generate so much attention and fear. Instead, it’s mostly about people using firearms to commit suicide – with wide variations across the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses death certificates to collect data on causes of death in the United States. This includes both a total overview of firearm-related deaths per year, but also different types of deaths caused by different types of firearms. The most recent full year of CDC data is from 2022; the most recent three years of CDC data shows the increase in gun deaths that Murthy pointed out in his statement.
Most of these deaths, even in 2022, were the result of people committing suicide. According to the CDC data, in 2020 and 2021, the percentage of firearm deaths due to suicide was lower than in any other year since 1999. The percentage of homicides was higher. However, in 2022, the percentage of firearm deaths attributed to suicide increased.
Firearm deaths relative to state populations vary. For example, DC and Montana have high gun deaths relative to their populations. New Jersey and California have relatively few.
DC also has many more deaths attributed to assault — that is, murders. In states like Utah, the majority of deaths are attributed to suicide. In other states, including much of the South, homicide rates are much higher.
However, the recent increase in firearm deaths pales in comparison to the increase in overdose deaths. That increase has been attributed to the increase in deaths from fentanyl, but overdose deaths had been increasing for some time before the rise of fentanyl a few years ago.
Overdose deaths due to opioids (including the synthetic opioid fentanyl) were declared a public health emergency in 2017. That year, the CDC recorded three overdose deaths for every two firearm deaths in the United States, up from a 1-to-1 ratio six years earlier. . In 2022, there were two opioid deaths for every firearm death.
Preliminary 2023 data released by the CDC indicates that firearm deaths in the United States did not increase that year, but instead fell by 5 percent. That would be a steeper decline than the 3 percent decline in overdose deaths over the same period.
There are still tens of thousands of gun deaths every year. And of course, there is still a political motivation to focus the nation’s attention on those deaths.
