Marcie volunteers with an organization advocating for “common-sense” gun laws, such as mandatory background checks for all gun purchases. Making reference to suicides, homicides, and intimate partner violence, outline some of the “talking points” Marcie might include in a presentation to her Members of Congress to urge them to support reasonable gun control legislation.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Guns are involved in many suicides, homicides, and instances of intimate partner violence. Guns are involved in 70% of homicides, a leading cause of death for most age groups. Guns are also implicated in many suicide, the 10th leading cause of death among among adults. Even though they less often attempt suicide than women, men are 4 times more likely to die from it, because they use guns more than half the time--about 56% of the time. A sizeable minority of people--30% of women and 10% of men--have experienced some type of intimate partner violence (IPV). It seems reasonable to suppose that a fair number of Americans have experienced gunshots or pistol-whippings in instances of IPV.
Sensible gun legislation would go a long way to lower the number of Americans who die in suicides or homicides, or who are seriously injured in instances of IPV. Estimates are that three common-sense gun laws--background checks for all gun purchases, background checks to buy ammunition, and required identification of firearms through the bullets they fire--would lead to a substantial decrease in gun deaths. Background checks and licensing requirements at the state level lead to a drop in suicide rates of about 15%. Finally, states that restrict people from acquiring a gun when they have convictions or restraining orders stemming from domestic violence a 7% reduction in intimate partner homicide. Cities with such restrictions show a 19% decline.