The goals of the public health establishment for 2000 were set forth in
Healthy People 2000 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), released in 1990. The nation's progress in meeting those goals as of 1998 was evaluated in
Healthy People 2000 Final Review, released in 2001. The following is a summary of some of the goals related to firearm injuries and deaths and the Department of Health and Human Services analysis, plus the progress (where applicable) in meeting those goals:
- GOAL: REDUCE SUICIDES TO NO MORE THAN 10.5 PER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE. Gunshot injuries cause a majority of suicide deaths, and much of the increase in suicide rates since the 1950s corresponded to the rise in firearm-related deaths. However, while most successful suicides involve a firearm, most attempted suicides are caused by taking pills and by inflicting minor lacerations (cuts). The goal was met. By 1998 the suicide rate was 10.4 per one hundred thousand people.
- GOAL: REDUCE WEAPONS-RELATED VIOLENT DEATHS TO NO MORE THAN 12.6 PER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE. The violent and accidental use of firearms is the second most important contributor, after motor vehicles, to injury deaths. Suicides and homicides accounted for more than 90% of all firearm-related deaths and more than 95% of knife-related deaths. Of the approximately twenty-one thousand homicides that occur in the United States annually, more than 60% involve firearms and about 20% involve knives. In 1994 firearms caused 38,505 deaths: 49% from suicides, 46% from homicide, and 4% from unintentionally inflicted injuries. The goal was met. By 1998 the rate of weapons-related violent deaths had declined to 11.3 per one hundred thousand people. For African-Americans, the rate was 22.7 (the goal was 30).
- GOAL: REDUCE BY 20% THE INCIDENCE OF WEAPON-CARRYING BY ADOLESCENTS FOURTEEN TO SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD (TO EIGHTY-SIX INCIDENTS PER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND STUDENTS PER MONTH). Many experts consider the immediate availability of firearms and other lethal weapons to be the factor most likely to turn a violent disagreement or conflict into a lethal one. Regardless of their views on gun control, few people would argue that adolescents should have ready access to loaded firearms or other lethal weapons at school or on the streets; nonetheless, many adolescents do. The goal was met. By 1999 the rate of weapon-carrying had fallen to sixty-eight incidents per one hundred thousand students per month. This goal and the findings were based on surveys in about eleven thousand selected schools.
- GOAL: REDUCE BY 20% (TO 16%) THE PROPORTION OF ADULTS WHO POSSESS WEAPONS THAT ARE KEPT LOADED AND UNLOCKED. Many homicides and suicides are committed on impulse, and a substantial portion of these deaths might be prevented if lethal weapons are not immediately available and if guns and ammunition are properly stored. The impulsive nature of most homicides is reflected in the fact that half of the twenty thousand or so homicide victims in the United States each year are killed by persons they know. The nation moved toward this goal. By 1998, 19% of adults reported storing weapons that were loaded and unlocked.
- GOAL: ENACT IN ALL FIFTY STATES HANDGUN STORAGE LAWS TO MINIMIZE THE LIKELIHOOD OF DISCHARGE BY CHILDREN. While the death rate for children is generally lower than that of young and middle-aged adults, the greatest opportunities to prevent firearm-related deaths are probably among children. The nation moved toward meeting this goal. While only one state (Florida) had a firearm storage law in 1990, eighteen states had such laws in 2004.
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