This week’s City Club’s presentation is on gun violence as a public health crisis. It will be available at noon on Friday on Facebook, and aired Monday at 7 p.m. on KLCC.

From the City Club website:

The toll of American gun violence is horrific, and it is on the rise.  In 2017, gun deaths reached their highest level since 1968, with 39,773 deaths by firearms.  The rate of firearm deaths per 100,000 people rose from 10.3 per 100,000 in 1999 to 12 per 100,000 in 2017, with 109 people dying per day.  More than 1.2 million Americans have been shot in the past decade.  

The statistics are even worse for communities of color.  Black men make up 52% of all gun homicide victims, despite comprising less than 7% of the US population. Black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to die by gun homicide, and 14 times more likely to be injured in a gun assault.

To date, gun violence has been considered primarily a law enforcement issue. Would it make more sense to study the problem as a public health issue, seeking causes and solutions for the carnage? In this program, national experts discuss what can be achieved if we treat this as a public health problem.  They examine the impact of gun violence on communities, school shootings, connections with law enforcement, and legislation at the state and local levels.

Find out more at the City Club’s website.