Thursday April 12 5:02 PM ET
Agency: Gun Deaths Decline in 1990s

By ERIN McCLAM, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - Gun deaths in the United States dropped
more than 25 percent during the mid-1990s to the
lowest level since 1966, the government said Thursday.

Analysts at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (news - web sites) credited stricter
sentencing in some areas, new laws that make it more
difficult for criminals to get guns, the waning crack
trade, and low unemployment because of the booming
economy.

The CDC reported 30,708 gun-related deaths - 11.4 per
100,000 people - in 1998, the latest year for which
statistics are available. The rate is down 26 percent
from 1993, when there were 15.4 deaths per 100,000
people.

Gun-related injuries fell by nearly half during the
same five-year period, dropping to 64,484 in 1998, or
23.9 per 100,000 people.

Guns remain the second leading cause of injury-related
deaths in the United States, trailing only auto
accidents.

The drop during the 1990s coincides with a fall in
homicides to levels not seen in three decades. The new
figures, however, show that gun injuries declined
across all three categories of intent - assault,
accidental and intentional self-infliction.

The National Rifle Association said the lower death
rates are evidence that gun-safety programs are
reaching Americans and that gun laws are working.

``This is obviously good news,'' said Patricia
Gregory, an NRA spokeswoman. ``There are tens of
thousands of firearms laws on the books. Strict
enforcement of existing law could reduce these numbers
even further.''

Gun-control advocates called for tighter restrictions
on firearm sales and more money for law enforcement.

``When we have 30,000 deaths a year, that's too
many,'' said Soledad Roybal, a spokeswoman for the
Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. ``There need to be
real, comprehensive laws, not just laws that are there
as a show.''

Of particular concern, the CDC said, is the striking
rate of gun suicides among elderly men - an average of
27.7 per 100,000 people during the five-year period.
The rate was just 1.8 per 100,000 for women over age
65.

The problem is likely to get worse as the population
ages, analysts said.

``It was just something that kind of popped out,''
said J. Lee Annest, a CDC statistician. ``There's a
lot of action going on to prevent youth violence. This
really is a problem that needs more attention.''

Men were victims of five of every six gun deaths and
seven of every eight gun-related injuries during the
five-year period.

The CDC report excluded air-powered pellet guns. The
numbers were collected from emergency rooms and death
certificates in all 50 states and the District of
Columbia. State-by-state numbers were not released.

-

On the Net:

CDC report:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr(underscore)ss.html

National Rifle Association: http://www.nra.org


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------