On Saturday, July 17, the Washington Nationals game in the other Washington (DC) was suspended due to gun fire in the parking lot that left three people injured. Gun violence has unfortunately become commonplace in the US. The United States accounts for just 4% of the world’s population but 35% of global firearm suicides and 9% of global firearm homicides (https:giffords.org).
“Washington [State] is at the forefront of gun-violence prevention laws. ‘Red flag’ laws are having a renewed moment in the national spotlight, and our state was the fourth to enact one creating a legal way to remove guns from people who threaten to harm themselves or others. The law is having an effect: Since 2017, more than 500 petitions have been filed for extreme risk protection orders.” [Seattle Times headline, 6-1-21]
The majority of deaths caused by firearms in our state are suicides. In 2017, for example, 75% of Washington’s gun deaths were attributed to suicide, according to a report from Haborview Injury Prevention and Research Center. The national figure that year was 60%.
The Giffords Law Center estimates the annual cost of gun violence to be $3.8 billion to the state and $544 for every Washington resident.1 In 2017, Washington State had 849 deaths attributed to firearms with a death rate of 11.1 per 100,000 population compared to a 12.0 percent rate for the United States as a whole.2 Additionally, firearms are the second leading cause of death for children in the United States, and half of all murders of LGBTQ+ people in our country is caused by firearms.3
The Church & Society/Social Justice Committee will be tracking Washington State legislation related to gun violence during the next legislative session beginning in January 2022. We will provide opportunities for advocacy in upcoming e-newsletter issues by following the recommendations of Grandmothers against Gun Violence and the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. In the meantime we urge everyone to listen to the candidates in the upcoming primary election for their positions on controlling gun violence.
1. Giffords Law Center. The State of Gun Violence in Washington, 2017. (pdf)
2. Centers for Disease Control. Firearm Mortality by State, 2017.
3. Alliance for Gun Responsibility. Gun violence is a national health crisis, 2019.