Top 3 Gun Violence Speakers
- By Aaron Peterson
- Apr 09, 2024
Top 3 Gun Violence Speakers
Pew Research compiled the latest research and found that gun-related injuries took the lives of 48,830 people in 2021. This study only looked at death certificates where a gunshot was listed as the cause of death.
Suicide accounts for 54% of gun-related deaths, but 43% are murder. The remaining percentages are tied to accidental shootings, police and law enforcement shootings, or unknown circumstances. Perhaps more frightening is that 2021 had the highest percentage of gun-related murders since the 1960s. And, they increased by 45% between 2019 and 2021.
That’s only the deaths related to gun violence. The organization Brady United reports that 327 people are shot each day in the U.S. While 117 die, 210 survive, but they’re left with emotional, mental, and physical scars. Intentional and unintentional shootings where the victim survives are the most common outcomes. The different types of firearm injuries or deaths are the result of:
- Legal Intervention – Shootings by an on-duty law enforcement officer
- Self-inflicted – Intentional shootings like suicide
- Undetermined – Information couldn’t determine if the shot was intentional or not
- Unintentional – Accidental shootings
- Violence – The shooter knows the victim
Our top three gun violence speakers know these facts and share their personal stories with audiences.
Surprising Facts About Gun Violence
Shooting statistics are just part of the full picture. Here are some of the most surprising facts about gun violence.
- Every 16 Hours a Woman Is Shot
Almost twice a day, a woman is shot by a current or former spouse or partner in an act of domestic violence.
- Guns Used in Crimes Come From a Small Number of Gun Dealers
When the guns used in a crime are traced, 90% of them link back to the same 5% of gun dealers. The majority of gun dealers do their jobs and run thorough background checks and keep the proper paperwork, but there are a handful of businesses that don’t, and those guns are often tied to those sellers.
- Men Have the Highest Rates of Gun-Related Deaths.
In terms of gun-related deaths, men account for 86% of them. Suicide is one of the leading causes in men.
- Gun Deaths Are Highest in Seven States
U.S. gun death rates are highest in seven states per Pew Research’s study of CDC records. Those states are:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Montana
- New Mexico
- Wyoming
Wyoming and Montana have the highest rates of suicide by gun.
- People 75 or Older Account for the Most Gun-Related Deaths
The highest percentage of gun-related deaths occur in people 75 or older. These are tied to suicides. As many as 3.3% of deaths in women 75 or older are suicides according to the CDC, and it’s as high as 55.7% in men. Older men are more likely to choose a gun, while older women are more likely to choose a gun or poisoning.
- Shootings Are the Leading Cause of Death in Children
Out of every 100,000 deaths in children between the ages of 1 and 19, guns account for 6 of those deaths. More gun-related deaths affected children than car accidents, overdoses, illnesses, or poisonings.
Gun deaths are almost 10 times higher than Canada, which is second on the list at 0.62. It’s 200 times more than Japan.
- Handguns Are the Most Commonly Used Gun in Murders
When Pew Research looked at the FBI’s information on the type of guns used in murders, handguns accounted for 59% of the cases. Rifles and shotguns accounted for another 4%. The remaining didn’t fit either of those categories or were not classified.
Our Top Gun Violence Speakers
No matter what facts you need covered in a keynote or talk about gun violence, these gun violence speakers are the best. They'll share their stories, the facts about gun violence, and offer insights into what needs to change.
On August 8, 2022, a federal judge in the Southern District of Georgia sentenced three men for federal hate crimes against Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery was jogging in his town when three men pursued him through town and shot him to death.
Two of the men received life plus sentences and the third received 35 years. Arbery’s death was the result of racism and simply jogging past the men’s homes.
His mother champions for him through The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation. Her advocacy resulted in the repeal of Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law and the passage of hate crime legislation. Her story is emotional, but it’s also so very powerful as she’s seen exactly what guns can do to an innocent victim and those left behind.
2. Aswad Thomas
After graduating college, Thomas was set to go play professional basketball overseas. While leaving a convenience store in his neighborhood, two men tried to rob him. He got away and ran back to the store when they shot him in the back. Bullets dislocated his shoulder, collapsed his lungs, and barely missed his aorta and spinal cord. While he survived, the shooting ended his basketball career.
Upon his release from the hospital, he had little help recovering mentally and physically. When he was ready, he became a leading speaker on gun violence and advocates for gun violence prevention. He founded Hartford Action as a driving force to change the community and justice system.
On June 17, 2015, a 21-year-old white supremacist walked into a church and was welcomed by the parishioners. For 45 minutes, they invited him to pray with them not realizing he had a gun or hid his racist beliefs.. When the group shut their eyes to pray, he started shooting, stopping only to tell one woman that he’d leave her alive to tell people what he’d done.
This is a story Chris Singleton knows all too well. His mother, Reverend Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was one of the victims of that senseless shooting. The aspiring baseball player had to balance his college studies with raising his siblings. He played for the Cubs for several seasons, but today, he travels the country talking about forgiveness, resilience, and unity.
If you’d like to have one of these gun violence speakers talk to your class, business, or organization, use the online form to request more information. You’ll learn more about pricing and availability using a convenient online form.
Sources:
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
https://www.bradyunited.org/key-statistics
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/firearms/fastfact.html
https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/06/23/remarks-by-president-biden-and-attorney-general-garland-on-gun-crime-prevention-strategy/
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db483.htm
