The recent shootings are a terrible consequence of the proliferation of guns in our society. As a father, I have felt the anguish of grieving parents. As a community leader, I am amazed by the overwhelming data on how the proliferation of firearms has made our streets into war zones.
Why is there so much gun violence? The answer is clear looking at international comparisons, which show conclusively that fewer gun owners per capita produce fewer murders by firearm. In 2010, 8,775 murders by firearms were committed in the United States while only 58 occurred in Great Britain. Even after adjusting for the difference in population, British murders by firearm would still be far fewer.
Is it possible for communities or elected officials to stop the estimated 270 people killed or injured by a firearm each day in the United States?
According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, more than 18,000 Americans committed suicide with a gun in the most recent year for which stats are available. That represents more than 50 percent of all suicides that year.
More than 70 percent of all homicides of blacks and Latinos are committed by a firearm.
Each year, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, more than 3 million new handguns are legally manufactured and sold in the United States. Today, more than 270 million firearms are owned by Americans. That translates into nearly 90 out of every 100 Americans own a gun. Last year alone, the U.S. military sold $50 billion in weapons; early last decade, we became the world's largest exporter of weapons.
To end this scourge, our nation needs to put aside the billions in profit that allow Americans easy access to guns. Until we do, the biblical saying "Those who live by the sword die by the sword" will continue to ring true.
GUILLERMO A. MARTINEZ
Albany
President, Latino Society of New York