Massachusetts has fewest gun deaths, but large disparity between white and Black victims
BOSTON - Over the past few weeks, shooting deaths nationally and locally have been in the headlines on a seemingly daily basis.
"The mass shootings we hear about on the news are just the tip of the iceberg of gun violence in the U.S.," said Jonathan Jay, a professor at Boston University's School of Public Health. "Any time you see that level of mortality and injuries and the burden of trauma, you are looking at a public health crisis."
Jay cited data from the CDC when he said firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the U.S.
"It's traumatizing, obviously, for the people who lost someone but is also traumatizing for the communities that deal with these too frequently," said Ruth Zakarin of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.
Data from the CDC showed that in 2021 Massachusetts had the least number of gun-related fatalities of any other state. Jay said if you look further into the data, you will find that despite its low per capita gun fatalities, Massachusetts has one of the largest disparities between white and Black fatalities due to gun violence.
"It shows us Massachusetts has a lot of resources and a good starting place, but we need to do more to reduce those inequities," Jay said.
The latest PEW Research from 2021 showed that 40 percent of Americans said they live in a house with a gun. Most of those people cited personal protection as the reason behind owning a gun. About 50% of people in the U.S. said they view gun violence as a "very big problem," but placed it in priority behind affordability of health care, the federal budget deficit and illegal immigration.
