NYC Firearm Deaths Show Complex Link To Drug Use and Race 4/24/2002

New York, NY - More than half of those killed by firearms in New York City between 1990 and 1998 tested positive for drugs, but shooting deaths overall declined as the decade drew to a close, according to a new study to be released Tuesday in the Journal of Urban Health, published by The New York Academy of Medicine. Despite the decline, African-Americans and Latinos remained three times more likely than whites to be victims of shooting violence.

Of the 11,133 total firearm-related deaths in the city in that period, 55.3 percent of the victims tested positive for cocaine, marijuana, opiates (i.e., heroin) and/or alcohol, according to researchers, who combed eight years of records from the city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York.

Fatal shootings in the five boroughs dropped notably to 526 in 1998 from 1,720 in 1990, the study shows, while the proportion of drug-positive victims held steady. African-Americans and Latinos remained about three times more likely than whites to be victims of fatal firearm violence in 1998, though the race gap narrowed by that time.

While this study does not investigate drug use habits of those who fired the weapons, it provides further evidence that alcohol and illicit drugs continue to play a role in firearm mortalities, said lead author Sandro Galea, M.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist in the Academy's Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies (CUES).

"The overall decrease in firearm homicides in New York City is reassuring," Galea said. "However, the disparities in mortality between racial and ethnic groups remains a clear cause for concern." Other authors of the study are: Jennifer Ahern, M.P.H., of CUES; David Vlahov, Ph.D., CUES director; and Kenneth Tardiff, M.D., M.P.H. and Andrew Leon, Ph.D., of the Cornell University Medical College Department of Psychiatry.

The study, "Drugs and Firearm Deaths in New York City, 1990-1998," was funded in part by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It is among five research papers in the Journal's special "Firearms and Violence" section to be released Tuesday. The other firearm studies in the Journal found that: Women are much more likely to die at the hands of a gun-wielder in states where guns are more prevalent, according to Harvard University researchers. Between 1988 and 1997, women in high-gun states (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia) were 1.5 times more likely to die from suicide, 2.7 times more likely to die from homicide, and 11.2 times more likely to die from firearm accidents than in low-gun states (Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Delaware). Firearm use is the leading method of suicide and has been for two decades, according to scientists from the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis. Restricting firearm access could curb suicides, the study suggests. Unintentional gun deaths in the U.S. have steadily declined in the last century, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. Some possible explanations: the number of gun-owning households dropped 32 percent from 1973 to 2000, and a smaller percentage of households have an adult male. Guns are readily available to criminally involved youths through their social networks, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins University.The New York City study shows that the predominant illegal drug used by fatal shooting victims changed as the '90s progressed, and that choices varied by race. Cocaine was the most prevalent illegal drug detected in victims in 1990, autopsy records show, but marijuana took the lead from 1994-98. Alcohol was the most widely found drug in Latino and white victims in 1998, while marijuana was dominant in African-Americans.

Researchers also found that: Brooklyn was the deadliest borough from1990-98, with 35 percent of gun-related deaths. More than one-third of fatal shooting victims were 15-24 years old. The face of firearm deaths is mostly male (91.4 percent) and minority (48.1 percent African American, and 35.9 percent Latino). Whites comprise 12 percent of victims. Gun-related deaths dropped by two-thirds among African-American men from 1990-98, by nearly half for white men, and by nearly four times among Latino males. Minority women are more likely to be firearm homicide victims than are white women.NYAM researchers are continuing the study, collecting data for the last four years. A follow-up study will be released by next year.

The New York Academy of Medicine is a non-profit organization founded in 1847 that is dedicated to enhancing the health of the public through research, education and advocacy, with a particular focus on disadvantaged urban populations. The Academy formed and sponsors "Doctors Against Handgun Injury," a coalition of 12 professional medical societies working to reduce death and injury from handguns. The Academy publishes the Journal of Urban Health quarterly. View it online at www.jurban.oupjournals.org.

"African-Americans and Latinos remained three times more likely than whites to be victims of shooting violence. "

gosh, i can only hope that they found this out via a $35million government "study"....
shocking...wish congress would "invest" in a "study" to find out "who LIKELY terrorists" would be...

c'mon folks...save the money, buy nukes, n "nuke sow-ooooooo-di arab-ia"

Between 1988 and 1997, women in high-gun states (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia) were 1.5 times more likely to die from suicide.

Is this supposed to teach me not to own a firearm?
Hell, in 99.9% of homes that have adrenalin prepped in the fridge, the owners were diabetic.
In 99.9% of all ammo reloaders homes , most all owned firearms.
Most all owners of dog food owned dogs.
So this teaches us to always be armed in case a bad study comes along.....

The Academy formed and sponsors "Doctors Against Handgun Injury," a coalition of 12 professional medical societies working to reduce death and injury from handguns...

by disarming law abiding people so they may be killed in larger numbers by hands and feet and blunt instruments with no recourse to defend themselves from brute force. (A program that has proven shockingly effective in Great Britain and Australia!)

Your handle suggests an SM Stirling background, nez pas?

Compare these quotes from the article:

1. The face of firearm deaths is mostly male (91.4 percent) and,

2. Women are much more likely to die at the hands of a gun-wielder in states where guns are more prevalent, according to Harvard University researchers. Between 1988 and 1997, women in high-gun states (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia) were 1.5 times more likely to die from suicide, 2.7 times more likely to die from homicide, and 11.2 times more likely to die from firearm accidents than in low-gun states

Somehow they seem to have devoted an inordinate amount of attention to analyzing and reporting on 8.6% of the incidents.

There is a big lie burried in this report: "Unintentional gun deaths in the U.S. have steadily declined in the last century, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. Some possible explanations: the number of gun-owning households dropped 32 percent from 1973 to 2000, and a smaller percentage of households have an adult male."

Seems to me that the number of households in the US has increased by far more than 32% since 1973, leaving us with more, not fewer households with guns even if the percentage has dropped. Somehow we have gotten safer, but get no credit for it.

Lastly a question, just what counts as an "unintentional" death? If I get shot by a criminal, he intended to kill me, so I guess that doesn't count. On the other hand if someone breaks in and gets blown away no one intended for this result, so that statistic counts.

"The face of firearm deaths is mostly male (91.4 percent) and minority (48.1 percent African American, and 35.9 percent Latino). Whites comprise 12 percent of victims." (New York Academy Of Medicine)

Now do the math. Antigun liberals are admitting - with their own numbers - that gunshot death must be truly extremely aberrational for the 3/4 of Americans who aren't black or Hispanic.

Because that's mathematically the sole way that a group so large (European-Americans, about 3/4 of population) can account for only 1/8 of gunshot deaths - homicidal, suicidal, and accidental.

It is time to tell the truth - and to racialize the gun debate in order to convince ditzbrain "soccer moms" that they and their families face near-zero risk of gunfire wounds.

Scandals of antigun politicians and activists - and facts about race and crime

You posted:

The message also says to me that 'unintentional gun deaths' primarily occur in households where a white male and a weapon are both present. Feminazi agitprop, no?

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