Gunshot wounds--leading cause of death for American children

[Kathryn]

Agreed -- but then I'm just a Canadian, not an American who knows (s)he has to be ready every moment of the day to engage in a gun battle to save the nation.

TRUE STORY TIME!

I recently hosted a friend of mine who is German. He was very surprised by several things in the US. First of all he was very surprised that we didn't have gunshots ringing in the streets and schools. He was also very surprised that we are only about 15 percent African American. He thought, based on news coverage and commercials, that we would be ducking under things constantly, and that we were about 50 percent African American. Neither is true at all.

 

[Kathryn]

And this is a good differentiating qualification somehow?

I never said it was good.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I don't think you will find that guns are the leading cause of death for American children.

Are Guns the Leading Cause of Death for Children in the US?

Motor vehicle-related crashes used to be the leading cause of death among children and teens.

www.snopes.com

Try reading it.
The claim that guns were the leading cause of death for U.S. children in 2020 and 2021 is true only if the selected age range is 1-19 years old. This range excludes infants under one year old, who have a unique risk of age-specific causes of death.

 

[Kathryn]

Try reading it.
The claim that guns were the leading cause of death for U.S. children in 2020 and 2021 is true only if the selected age range is 1-19 years old. This range excludes infants under one year old, who have a unique risk of age-specific causes of death.

Sorry, I did read it and I do not consider 18 and 19 year olds to be "children."

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I don't think you will find that guns are the leading cause of death for American children.

Are Guns the Leading Cause of Death for Children in the US?

Motor vehicle-related crashes used to be the leading cause of death among children and teens.

www.snopes.com

The US does pretty badly on motor vehicle collisions, too. This is not a win.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Sorry, I did read it and I do not consider 18 and 19 year olds to be "children."

Read it again.

such as ages 1-18 and 1-19, in the years 2020 and 2021 — gun-related incidents were, in fact, the leading cause of death in children and teens. The most important caveat is that this conclusion derives from data that excludes infants below the age of 1, who are uniquely impacted by other causes of death. Adjusting the parameters in other ways also affects the result.

Thr idea 18 amd 19 year olds aren't kids and 17 amd 16 year olds are is arbritrary as the humans aren't fully mature then.

 

[Kathryn]

Read it again.
such as ages 1-18 and 1-19, in the years 2020 and 2021 — gun-related incidents were, in fact, the leading cause of death in children and teens. The most important caveat is that this conclusion derives from data that excludes infants below the age of 1, who are uniquely impacted by other causes of death. Adjusting the parameters in other ways also affects the result.

Nope, I've read it several times and am not predisposed to read it again. Like I said, I do not consider 18 and 19 year olds to be "children." After several years of escalation, in 2023 (and probably in 2024) the leading cause of death is NOT gun related stuff.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The US does pretty badly on motor vehicle collisions, too. This is not a win.

Where I live it's because the cops are more interested in harassing the homeless and pulling people over for using their phone while stopped at a red light than go after the hotroding and racing and putting up sobriety in check points where they're usefull (this last weekend was one point at thebfar end of town checkinf people as they're coming into town for thr most part. It got about a 12 citations for people driving without their license on hand and some while driving while suspended).

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Nope, I've read it several times and am not predisposed to read it again. Like I said, I do not consider 18 and 19 year olds to be "children." After several years of escalation, in 2023 (and probably in 2024) the leading cause of death is NOT gun related stuff.

19 year olds aren't fully mature. You might as well not consider a 16 year old a kid, oe consider them an adult. It's arbitrary and neither age is actually based on scientific reasoning.

 

[Kathryn]

19 year olds aren't fully mature. You might as well not consider a 16 year old a kid, oe consider them an adult. It's arbitrary and neither age is actually based on scientific reasoning.

A 19 year old can fight for his or her country.

 

[Copernicus]

A 19 year old can fight for his or her country.

Yes, and a 19 year old is still a teenager without full majority rights in every state. In many states you have to be at least 21 to buy alcohol, for example. The chronological age thing is a quibble, since, despite the thread title, the important debate is not over how to cook numbers. It is that gunshot wounds are a leading cause of death. If you want to argue that they are not THE leading cause of death, you are looking at the issue through the wrong end of the telescope.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Where I live it's because the cops are more interested in harassing the homeless and pulling people over for using their phone while stopped at a red light than go after the hotroding and racing and putting up sobriety in check points where they're usefull (this last weekend was one point at thebfar end of town checkinf people as they're coming into town for thr most part. It got about a 12 citations for people driving without their license on hand and some while driving while suspended).

In most American communities, road safety issues are more about the Fire Department than the Police Department.

Insisting on wide, clear roads for emergency response means that local streets are conducive to speeding. Enforcement isn't needed for speed control if the streets have been designed with a target speed approach (i.e. the road authority decides on an appropriate speed for the road and then designs the road so that it's uncomfortable to drive faster than that target speed).

 

[Kathryn]

Yes, and a 19 year old is still a teenager without full majority rights in every state. In many states you have to be at least 21 to buy alcohol, for example. The chronological age thing is a quibble, since, despite the thread title, the important debate is not over how to cook numbers. It is that gunshot wounds are a leading cause of death. If you want to argue that they are not THE leading cause of death, you are looking at the issue through the wrong end of the telescope.

Well, the OP did say THE leading cause of death, which it is not. It is A leading cause of death, which is terrible. I gave several examples of how I would stop the incessant trade of guns in the nation of the US, but no one has responded to that post.

 

[Copernicus]

In your original post you say 'This is intolerable'. Why is it intolerable?

Luckily, your post followed mine directly, David, so it is reasonable to assume that the question was addressed to me. Quick question: Do you believe that Americans should find it tolerable that gunshot wounds are the/a leading cause of death in our youth? (Apparently, some folks here still think that vehicle deaths are more lethal, so the thread title is misleadingly alarmist to them.) To get at the "why", we need to address what standards of 'tolerable' we are dealing with.

 

[Kathryn]

Luckily, your post followed mine directly, so it is reasonable to assume that the question was addressed to me. Quick question: Do you believe that Americans should find it tolerable that gunshot wounds are the/a leading cause of death in our youth? (Apparently, some folks here still think that vehicle deaths are more lethal.)

A leading cause, not THE leading cause of death among American children. Still terrible though.

 

[Altfish]

The start of a new school year begins with the mass shooting at a Georgia high school. The shooter was just 14 years old. This is intolerable. Guns have become the leading cause of death for American children.

As guns rise to leading cause of death among US children, research funding to help prevent and protect victims lags​

I thought Trump said it was abortions after 9-months of pregnancy.

 

[Copernicus]

A leading cause, not THE leading cause of death among American children. Still terrible though.

Right, because you disagree with the author of an article over how to classify victims as 'children'.

 

[Kathryn]

Right, because you disagree with the author of an article over how to classify victims as 'children'.

I don't call anyone who could fight and die for their country (aka enlist) a "child." I don't call 18 and 19 year olds "children" but you do you if you like.

 

[Copernicus]

I don't call anyone who could fight and die for their country (aka enlist) a "child." I don't call 18 and 19 year olds "children" but you do you if you like.

OK! OK! I get your nitpick. Can we move on?

 

[Kathryn]

OK! OK! I get your nitpick. Can we move on?

Sure let's move forward. Gun violence is a leading cause of death among kids in the US, and it's terrible. It's not THE leading cause of death but it's A leading cause of death among children in the US, which is bad enough.