Gun Violence Group, Everytown For Gun Safety, Gathers Celebrities To Deliver Important Message
Jason Bateman. Reese Witherspoon. Jon Hamm. Beyoncé. These celebrities joined many more to issue the same harrowing question on behalf of Everytown For Gun Safety: How many more tragedies need to happen as the result of gun violence before the public decides enough is enough?
The United States is far and away the world leader when it comes to annual firearm deaths and total gun ownership. Second-place Switzerland has 45.7 guns per 100 people, while the U.S. has 88.8. South Africa has 9.4 firearm-related deaths per 100,000, and the U.S. leads with 10.2. Our culture’s fascination with guns has produced an alarming number of national tragedies that at once blend concerns of mental health issues, legal rights, and young male socialization.
To fight the ongoing disasters that may only make the local news, if they bubble up at all, the social action group Everytown For Gun Safety encourages people to join the movement to promote gun safety in the U.S., whether it concerns keeping kids safe or ending domestic violence before it starts.
Between 1990 and 2005, for instance, firearms were used to kill more than two-thirds of spouse and ex-spouse homicide victims. Those involving a firearm are 12 times more likely to result in death than if other weapons or bodily force alone are involved.
“Gun violence touches every town in America,” the organization’s website reads. “For too long, change has been thwarted by the Washington gun lobby and by leaders who refuse to take common-sense steps that will save lives.”