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| The Michigan Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence (MPPGV) was created in October of 1995 to bring together the professional communities of law, medicine, and public health in a concerted inter-professional effort to address the growing national and state concern about the prevalence and scope of gun violence. The frequency, prevalence and costs of firearm-related injuries and deaths describe a national epidemic; and Michigan plays a major role in this tragedy. Overall, firearms claim more than 26,000 lives a year across the nation, and nearly 1,100 in Michigan. Over half of these deaths are to young people, under the age of 35. Firearm deaths are second only to motor vehicle accidents as the major cause of death among young adults in Michigan and the U.S.The MPPGV defines gun violence as including intentional injuries and deaths, psychological and emotional harm, and damage to property and economic well being from the deliberate misuse of firearms. Gun violence also includes the unintentional injuries and deaths, and the psychological, emotional, and economic harm which could have been prevented with prudent care in the use of guns. The MPPGV does NOT include the safe, lawful use of firearms for sport, hunting or target practice, law enforcement, or self-defense in its definition of gun violence. MPPGV is NOT an "anti-gun", but IS anti-gun violence. Throughout our Web Site and other publications, the terms "gun" and
"firearm" are used interchangeably and are defined as a weapon consisting of a
metal tube that fires a projectile at high velocity using an explosive charge as a
propellant. This includes handguns, rifles, and shotguns. |
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| MPPGV believes that our goal of reducing gun violence can only be realized through strengthening public policies that deal with gun violence as a public health issue. Firearm violence costs the health care systems of this country untold billions of dollars a year and degrades the quality of life of every citizen. Firearm injuries are not inevitable consequences of living in a violent society. Firearm injuries do not occur randomly. They disproportionately affect high-risk groups, follow an often predictable chain of events, and are, therefore, preventable. Our society’s traditional approach to dealing with firearm-related homicides has been to label the issue as a "crime" problem. However, interdiction (stopping the flow of supplies through the passage of laws) and incarceration of offenders alone have not stemmed the tide of crime related gun violence in the United States. And we have been at a loss about how to address the gun suicides which disproportionately claim the lives of teenagers and the elderly. Part of our societal dilemma in confronting this tragedy head on lies in our fear that our problems can only be solved by either arming all of our citizens for self protection or taking away everyone’s right to gun ownership. In fact, gun violence is preventable without resorting to either of those two extremes. When our country became concerned about the number of automobile deaths in the 1950s and 1960s, we did not ban the use or ownership of automobiles. Rather, we addressed automobile manufacturing standards for safety, driver education, road and highway design, and appropriate safety laws and policies. The rate of traffic fatalities was dramatically reduced and continues to diminish over time. (In fact, reliable estimates are that within a few years, the rate that people in our country die from traffic accidents will be less than the rate at which they die from gun violence. Michigan statistics indicate that that day will come for our state sooner than for most of the rest of the nation.) When citizen groups became concerned 20 years ago about the number of deaths and injuries attributable to drunk driving, drunk driving was considered a dangerous and probably uncontrollable societal dilemma. Through the efforts of local, state, and national organizations, people began to understand that they could take effective action to reduce drunk driving. Bar and restaurant owners collaborated with transportation providers to offer free rides to those who might otherwise drive drunk. Public service announcements educated people to designate drivers. Law enforcement pushed for stricter punishments and truth-in-sentencing for convicted offenders. The Michigan Legislature took note of expressed public concerns about drunk driving injuries and effectively responded with new and strengthened initiatives designed to solve that problem. Using alcoholic beverages in a lawful and safe manner is now emphasized by beverage manufacturers and consumers alike. The issue was never about taking cars away from responsible drivers or alcohol away from responsible drinkers, but was about drinking responsibly and driving responsibly. The examples given above represent a public health approach to addressing the issues involved. Using that model for the prevention of gun violence means addressing gun safety through education of gun owners and users, through enacting and enforcing reasonable laws and policies that support responsible gun ownership, through reasonable manufacturing safety standards, and through education of the general public and policy makers about how to prevent gun violence through community action. For preventive programs to work under this model, there must be an increase in public awareness regarding the dangers of gun violence in homes, schools, streets, and workplaces. In turn, people must know how to make themselves and their families secure against these dangers through preventive measures. Our knowledge of the dangers and preventive measures must lead to improvements in statewide public policies, laws, and regulations.
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