A new study detailing the rate of gun-related incidents has revealed some pretty devastating statistics.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s report, it’s estimated that almost one in five American adults have had a family member be fatally shot by a gun. Suicides were taken into account here. Moreover, 21 percent of American adults who responded to the study said they have felt threatened with a firearm.
Black people have experienced disproportionately more gun violence, with over one-third of Black adults revealing that they had a family member killed by a gun. The study shares that 18 percent of Latine adults and 17 percent of white adults reported having someone in their family die from a gun. Three in 10 Black adults and one in five Latine adults said they have seen someone shot by a firearm.
The study shows that Black adults also felt the most unsafe where they live.
“While most adults overall say they feel either ‘very’ (41%) or ‘somewhat’ (41%) safe from gun violence in their neighborhoods, significant shares say they feel ‘not too safe’ (13%) or not safe at all (5%),” KFF said in a statement, per CBS News. “One in six Black adults (17%) don’t feel at all safe in their neighborhoods, far greater than the share of White (2%) or [Latine] (9%) adults.”
The report indicates that Black and Latine adults are more concerned about a family member being a target of gun violence, with 32 percent of Black adults and 33 percent of Latine adults just over three times more likely to worry, in comparison to 10 percent of white people.
Guns are also prevalent in many homes, with the study sharing that 41 percent of all adults live in homes with guns. Of that percentage, 75 percent of respondents said the guns were “stored in ways that don’t reflect some common gun-safety practices.”
“Specifically, about half (52%) say that a gun in their home is stored in the same location as ammunition; more than four in 10 (44%) say that a gun is kept in an unlocked location; and more than a third (36%) say that a gun is stored loaded,” KFF said.
