CAGV GUN FACTS

In 2005, there were 30,694 gun-related deaths - 84 people each day; 187 of those killed were in Connecticut - 1 person every 2.1 days. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS. www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars

Firearms are used in over 2,000 crimes every year in Connecticut. Crime in CT, Annual Report of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Division of State Police, Crimes Analysis Unit, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000.

African Americans comprise approximately 9% of CT's population, but account for 37% of all firearm-related injuries treated in hospitals. CHIMEData Fact Sheet, "Firearm Injuries in CT", CT Hospital Association, June, 2005, p. 1.

In CT, direct hospital costs associated with treating firearms-related injuries totaled $7,661,586 in FY 2004. This does not include any additional costs, i.e. long-term care, rehab, home health aides or other expenses that may occur over a lifetime as a result of a firearm injury. CHIMEData Fact Sheet, "Firearm Injuries in CT", CT Hospital Association, June, 2005, p. 1.

Nearly 70% of all CT firearm-related injury victims were either uninsured or covered by Medicaid. CHIMEData Fact Sheet, "Firearm Injuries in CT", CT Hospital Association, June, 2005, p. 1.

Suicide is the leading cause of gun death both in the US (55%) & in Connecticut (60%). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS.

In Connecticut in 2005, 87 percent of firearms suicide victims were white males. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS.

In CT, 60% of murders are committed by firearms; 15% are by knife, 25% are all other methods. Injury Prevention Center, CT Children's Medical Center, CT Violent Injury Statistics System 2004 Report, p. 13.

In Connecticut in 2004, 90% of firearms homicide victims were males. The firearms homicide rate for African American males was 8 times higher than that for white males, and 3.5 times higher for Latino males than for white males. Injury Prevention Center, CT Children's Medical Center, CT Violent Injury Statistics System 2004 Report, p. 9.

In CT, for every 10 people killed in a homicide, at least 5 are killed by someone they know; only 1 is killed by stranger. Crime in CT, Annual Report of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Division of State Police, Crimes Analysis Unit, 2004, 2003, 2002.

In CT, 23% of small-city 9th and 10th graders and 15% of affluent suburban 9th and 10th graders said that it would be sort of easy or very easy to get a gun. Canny, Priscilla F. & Michelle Beaulieu Cooke, The State of Connecticut's Youth, 2003: Data, Outcomes and Indicators; Connecticut Voices for Children, p. 37.

A 2005 survey of CT students reported that 16% carried a weapon, such as a gun, knife, or club on one or more of the past 30 days. CT Dept. of Public Health, Connecticut School Health Survey

States that require mandatory licensing and registration of handguns make it harder for criminals and juveniles to obtain guns from within the state. Webster, Daniel W., Vernick, Jon S., Hepburn, Lisa M, "Relationship Between Licensing, Registration, and Other Gun Sales Laws and the Source State of Crime Guns," Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

All guns start with a legal sale from a licensed dealer. Yet in Connecticut, more than 85 percent of gun crimes are committed by people who cannot legally purchase guns. Based on a review of 290 incidents of gun crime where the origin of the gun was identified.

In 2007, 26 Hartford residents were murdered by guns. By December 31, only 6 arrests had been made in those cases, leaving 77 percent unsolved. Brown, Tina A., Overall Rate Falls For Year, But Homicides Rise From 24 To 33, Hartford Courant, 1/10/08; Hartford Courant, 1/10/08; and correction 1/23/08; Hartford PD Crime Analysis web page.

In Bridgeport, 69 percent of the gun homicides had not resulted in an arrest by the end of the year. Tepfer, Daniel, Bridgeport homicide cases fall in 2007, CT Post, 1/6/08. And in New Haven, no arrests had been made in 85 percent of homicides and non-fatal shootings. New Haven Public Safety, pp. 9, 12, 15.

ATF data reports that 67% of traced crime guns were first legally purchased in CT. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information, Data Source: Firearms Tracing System.

ATF data reports that 38% of traced crime guns are rifles or shotguns. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information, Data Source: Firearms Tracing System.

In CT, a person needs a pistol permit to buy a Beretta handgun, and also needs to pass a background check at the time of purchase. The sale is registered with the Department of Public Safety. CT General Statutes, 29-33.

In CT, if this gun is stolen, the theft must be reported to police within 72 hours. Colt AR-15, banned in CT in 1993 but previous owners could still posses. CT General Statutes 53-202/53-202g.	None of those regulations apply to the private sale of this Colt Match Target rifle. Colt Match Target Rifle; not banned in CT.

In CT, a person needs a pistol permit to buy this Glock 17, and also needs to pass a background check at the time of purchase. The sale is registered with the Department of Public Safety. CT General Statutes, 29-33.	None of those regulations apply to the private sale of this Grizzly .50-caliber rifle.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the absence of documentation regarding private gun sales facilitates the illegal gun trade to criminals and other prohibited purchasers. Department of the Treasury, Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Gun Shows: Brady Checks and Crime Gun Traces (January 1999).

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