Posted on 06/05/2004 5:01:04 AM PDT by Gun142
Three out of four firearms deaths in Minnesota from 1998 through 2001 were caused by self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to a report released this week by the Minnesota Department of Health.
The information, compiled by the department as part of an ongoing effort to investigate and document violence in Minnesota, is considered one of the most comprehensive analyses yet of firearms injuries in the state, said Jon Roesler, senior epidemiologist with the agency's injury and violence prevention unit.
Roesler said the report also should help "provide context" to the debate regarding the use of firearms in a state that last year loosened restrictions on the law allowing its residents to carry handguns in public.
"Firearms are a hot topic," Roesler said. "I mean, it's polarized people. On the one hand, ... firearms are not a leading cause of fatalities in our state. The numbers are not huge.
"But on the flip side," Roesler continued, "if your son or daughter is killed by a firearm, it's a big deal."
He said information about firearms fatalities in Minnesota has been consistently documented in recent years. But sorting through and linking data from multiple sources regarding nonfatal injuries hadn't been done.
"We knew how many people were dying from firearms, but we didn't know how many were injured from firearms," he said. "Now, we know."
The Health Department is required by the Legislature to develop and maintain a computerized database on firearms injuries.
Roesler said the department is in the process of collecting and analyzing data on firearms injuries for 2002 and 2003.
The data
In preparing the report released this week, the department gathered data from the state's 87 counties over four years beginning in 1998. It analyzed hospital discharge information, death certificates and statistics from the state's trauma centers.
Among the findings:
At least 2,996 Minnesotans suffered firearms injuries over the four-year period. Of those, 1,284 people died from the wounds; 976 of which were self-inflicted.
Men accounted for 88 percent of all injuries reported, with those ages 15 to 24 sustaining more fatal and nonfatal injuries than any other age group.
Seniors had the highest rate of suicide by firearms, followed by teens and young adults between 15 and 24.
Most of the firearms injuries occurred in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area.
Most firearms injuries in rural Minnesota were self-inflicted; most in the metro area were the result of assaults or homicides.
Firearms injury rates were higher for blacks, American Indians and Asians than they were for whites. The injury rate for blacks was the greatest -- seven times that of whites.
Rates of firearms injuries were highest in communities with a median income of $30,000 or less.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
COURTS: Churches, charities air concerns over gun law
Also found here
Archie: "Would it make you feel better if they was pushed out of windows, little girl?"
Without statistics from other places, it is not possible to determine whether this ratio is any different anywhere else. We cannot tell whether MN has a lower rate of crime or a higher rate of suicide.
"Every ten seconds a girl under the age of 16 gives birth to a child". Oh, my god, somebody stop her!
With perhaps five billion people in the world, any matter can be made to sound dire by quoting statistics out of context.
good point.
Water is wet, srudy finds. film at 11
ROFL
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