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Gun violence remains one of the most divisive and emotionally charged topics in America. While the conversation often spirals into partisan talking points, meaningful solutions remain elusive.
William Kirk of Washington Gun Law recently tackled this uncomfortable discussion head-on, using hard data to shed light on the complexities surrounding gun-related violence in the United States.
Table of contents
The Data Doesn’t Lie
Relying on statistics from the CDC and FBI, Kirk highlighted a stark reality: America’s gun violence problem isn’t evenly distributed across demographics.
- White Americans: 2.8 homicides per 100,000 people
- Asian Americans: 1.7 per 100,000
- Hispanic Americans: 7.1 per 100,000
- Native Americans: 13.6 per 100,000
- African Americans: 28.6 per 100,000
These numbers reveal a critical disparity. Some communities face violence levels comparable to war-torn regions, while others live with far lower risks.
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Who Are the Perpetrators?
The FBI data paints an equally grim picture:
- 81% of white victims were killed by white perpetrators.
- 89% of African-American victims were killed by African-American perpetrators.
This isn’t just a “gun problem”—it’s a societal problem deeply intertwined with poverty, systemic issues, and community breakdowns.
A State-Level Case Study: Louisiana
Louisiana consistently ranks among the states with the highest gun-related homicides. In 2023:
- 89 white individuals were killed by firearms (3.4 per 100,000).
- 626 African-Americans were killed (42.4 per 100,000).
The numbers beg the question: Are loose gun laws the issue, or are there deeper social and economic factors at play?
The Age and Gender Factor
Among African-American males, the risk of gun-related homicide skyrockets during adolescence and early adulthood:
- Ages 15–24: 100 per 100,000
- Ages 25–34: 86.2 per 100,000
These aren’t just numbers—they represent lives cut short and communities in perpetual grief.
Honest Conversations Are the First Step
As Kirk rightly points out, we can’t solve a problem we’re unwilling to discuss honestly. The conversation about gun violence needs to move past surface-level debates about firearms and dive into the root causes—poverty, family structure, education, and community support.
As Kirk says:
And there is no issue in America that we do a worse job of trying to discuss and resolve than when it comes to race. And while that problem used to be blamed on many on the right for their unwillingness to have an open mind, it’s now really the blame shifts mostly to those on the left who believe that anyone who doesn’t see the world exactly according to them is obviously racist, misogynistic, or homophobic.
But like I said earlier, if the CDC suddenly had a huge press conference about an alarming rise in stomach cancer, and then yet you find out that they were doing nothing to investigate what was causing that stomach cancer, well then you’d beg the question: are we ever going to solve this problem?
And that is the exact problem that America comes to when we talk about gun violence, or more importantly, the ugly and inescapable truth about gun violence.
Moving Forward
It’s time to stop ignoring the data and start having hard conversations. Whether or not you agree with every point raised, the numbers demand attention. If we continue to sidestep these uncomfortable truths, we’ll remain stuck in a cycle of violence with no end in sight.
For those interested in diving deeper, check out the full article Kiirk references by Kostas Moros and follow him on Twitter for more sharp insights.
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) December 9, 2024
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There is no such thing as “gun violence”
There is only “Criminal Violence” or a dark heart…
Why not also publish the data regarding illegal ownership or possession of the firearms. A lot of firearm violence is from illegal possession. Vast majority of legal gun owners have never created an issue.
“White supremacy … is the single most dangerous terrorist threat in our homeland,”
“And I’m not just saying this because I’m at a Black HBCU. I say this wherever I go.”
-the fake POTUS (genuine POS)
It’s Been this way for a long time, but nobody wants to talk about it. No one wants to hear called racist.
It’s not an unco.fortable discussion. And it’s violence, not gun violence, and it is not more prevalent than the child and adult sex trafficking, incest, rape, muggings, gang related violence happening every day everywhere. The authors of this organization have willfully fallen prey to the media hype!!! You are fast becoming a joke and are part of the problem.
It’s been like this for a long time. But nobody wants to talk about it because they don’t want to be called a racist…
Rap Crap and no fathers.
This has been the elephant in the room for MANY years! I teach firearms safety and first time gun owners classes and have done so for years. I’m up on the topic. Media says America is the most dangerous country on the planet in re gun violence. Using the metric of gun crime per 100,000 population, we rank around #120 out of 190 countries worldwide. Remove the numbers from but 65 counties out of roughly 3100 counties in the US, we drop down to around # 188.
Want to hazard a guess where those counties are? Blue states/cities with historically democrat governments and the strictest anti 2A laws. Are you seeing a pattern here?
It is not about guns and their availability, it’s about their VIOLENT MISUSE BY CRIMINALLY INCLINED PEOPLE. It really is that simple. Incarcerated the 7-8% of the population responsible for 90% of the crime and the problem will diminish.
But if we’re going to be honest about these things, there’s A LOT OF MONEY involved in law enforcement. Just sayin……..
There will never be “meaningful” resolutions or solutions on this topic. THAT would require those in power to actually have a spine, and start holding the Perps feet to the fire, and harsh sentencing.
Most importantly, it flies in the face of the true reason for the Lefts dragging of the feet, the complete and absolute ban and removal of guns (all of them) from our society.
To say otherwise also flies in the face of reason and logic, given the many solutions offered over the decades, and that were actually quite logical and reasonable.
Our opponents are NOT interested in resolutions beyond a total ban, it has been their stated goal (in their secret meetings amongst themselves) and will continue to be.
One cannot hope to argue or reason with such stubborn and blind ignorance of basic Human traits. There will always be evil, and it will always be harmful.
And the Left does not care if it harms us, they care only for their power and need to run People’s lives.
And it is difficult to run the lives of an Armed Citizenry.
The cdc and fbi has been caught omitting data (lying) on this same subject. Watch John stossel report “good guys with guns”. FBI consistently missing “lying” data on the use of guns. Can’t trust the fbi or cdc on anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r_xc09q9vo
Closing down big blue city plantations would go a long way toward solving the problem. People are kept in poverty, homes permanently broken and babies killed by the “Black Project” oh, make that Planned Parenthood. Government subsidizes al this through it’s welfare policies. Take away all the big blue cesspools from the data and things become reasonable fast. Don’t hold your breath though. Democrat plantation owners will keep things just the way they are.
While not exactly the “13% of the population commits 50% of the crimes” statistic that the peckerwoods with their burning crosses and pointy white hoods like to quote, even the NAACP is FINALLY admitting that blacks are committing a much higher proportion of crimes relative to their actual numbers. Much of that, in my opinion, is due to decades of Democrats convincing them that they are actually perpetual victims and somehow deserve handouts because of the involuntary servitude of their ancestors, and that “whitey” – particularly whites who have jobs and earn what they have – are “privileged” and need to “redistribute their wealth” in the name of “equity”. King Barry really inflamed the situation with his pandering.
I used to teach criminal justice courses, and would bring in newspaper headlines of supposed gun violence! I told the students that rouge guns were obviously sneaking out at night getting together and shooting people! The students would always say that is stupid! I would state how can it be stupid if the media is apparently telling you that by calling it gun violence and blaming the acts on gunsI think that many people and I understand, I could be wrong, that the left’s concern over guns is not about safety, but the fear that the little people having weapons would allow them to counter the left’s desire to control them!
The link to X “isn’t supported”. How do I get to it, then?
Back during the 40s 50s 60s and into the 70s, the black community was treated horrendously worse than they are now yet they didn’t go around killing each other. I believe a lot of this has to do with the breakdown of the Black family that our own government perpetrated.
To refer to it as a “Gun Violence” problem, is missing the point. It’s a violence problem. If you think that gun violence problem can be solved by banning guns, then you must be okay with just the violence part, right? Only a truly primitive, uneducated people will blame an inanimate object for the actions of members of their society. Whatever the reason, stats show Americans are a violent people. The gun didn’t make us that way. It’s just a convenient excuse.
Humans were violent from the beginning – Adam blaming Eve and, of course, Cain killing Abel. No guns needed as you state. It’s all a matter of the heart.
America does not have a gun problem, we have a violent people problem.
Quit calling it “gun violence” because it is violence using a gun.