1. Guns kill more than 1,000 North Carolinians every year. In 2005 (the latest figures available), approximately every six days a North Carolina child seventeen or younger was killed by a gun in a homicide, suicide, or unintentional shooting. Total deaths for the year 2005 were 1,126 adults and children. 

2. A UNC Study found that 43 percent of NC gun owners with small children leave their weapon unlocked. In NC in 2004, 54.7 percent of adolescent suicide deaths were with a firearm. 

3. North Carolina is 9th highest in the nation in the number of men killing women (usually women they know and usually with a gun). In 2004, 48 of 81 (59%) domestic violence victims in North Carolina were killed with guns.

4. NC is the 5th leading source for handguns used in crimes nationwide. 

5. There are more guns in the United States today than in any other modern industrialized country. At last count, there were roughly 200 million firearms in private hands in the U.S.- almost one for every American adult. 

6. North Carolina currently has no ban on assault weapons, no ban on large capacity ammunition magazines, no waiting period, no requirement to register guns with local authorities, no limitation of one handgun per person per month, and no required locking devices.

7. As of October 19, 2006, there were nearly 1700 federally licensed firearms dealers in North Carolina. 

8. In 2006, there were 30,896 gun deaths in the U.S: 12,791 homicides (41% of total deaths), 16,883 suicides (55% of total deaths), 642 unintentional shootings (2% of total deaths), 360 from legal intervention (1.2% of total deaths) and 220 from undetermined intent (0.8% of total deaths). 

9. Nationwide for 2006, gun violence killed 3,218 American children and teens ages 19 and under, an increase of 6.3% from the nationwide 2005 total of 3,027.  This means that in the U.S. an average of 9 young people are killed each day by guns.  

10. While handguns account for only one-third of all firearms owned in the United States, they account for more than two-thirds of all firearm-related deaths each year. A gun in the home is 4 times more likely to be involved in an unintentional shooting, 7 times more likely to be used to commit a criminal assault or homicide, and 11 times more likely to be used to attempt or commit suicide than to be used in self-defense. 

11. A gun in the home increases the risk of homicide of a household member by 3 times and the risk of suicide by 5 times compared to homes where no gun is present. 

12. Despite popular belief, young children do possess the physical strength to fire a gun: 25 percent of 3-to-4-year-olds, 70 percent of 5-to-6-year-olds, and 90 percent of 7-to-8-year-olds can fire most handguns. Of gun-owning households with children, 48 percent do NOT regularly make sure that guns are equipped with child safety locks or other trigger locks. Of students in grades six through twelve, 59 percent know where to get a gun if they want one, and two thirds of these students say they can acquire a firearm within 24 hours.

13. Comparison of U.S. gun homicides to other industrialized countries: In 2004 (the most recent year for which this data has been compiled), handguns murdered:

• 5 people in New Zealand
• 37 people in Sweden
• 56 people in Australia
• 184 people in Canada
• 19 people in Japan
• 73 people in the UK
• 11,344 people in the United States 

14. Among 26 industrialized nations, 86% of gun deaths among children under age 15 occurred in the United States. 

SOURCES

1. North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, “Quick Facts,” www.ncgv.org/facts.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Legal Community Against Violence, “North Carolina State Law Summary,” www.lcav.org/states/northcarolina.asp#top.
7. Ibid.
8. Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, “General Gun Violence Statistics,” http://www.ichv.org/Statistics.htm
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, “General Gun Violence Statistics,” http://www.ichv.org/Statistics.htm; Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, “Firearm Facts,” www.bradycampaign.org/issues/gvstats/firearmoverview/