Even for adults with training and experience, it is incredibly easy to escalate a situation and cross the line from self defense into fighting. Even if self defense is justified, using a gun bullet to resolve a conflict will shatter multiple lives, forever.
Violent means of self defense? We Americans start early down that path.
10-14 15-24 25-34 35-44
Leading causes of violence-related death (age 10-44)
According to a new study, published in
Pediatrics, (August 2013)
Boys With Guns at High Risk of Assault, "1 in 4 young people treated in ER after violent attack admitted having a gun.” The National Library of Medicine reports on the study,
1 noting that "many [teens and young adults] who possessed firearms obtained them from friends and family." It’s a short article and I encourage you to click through and read the whole thing before you continue.
Nearly one in four said they'd had a gun in the past six months. Eighty-three percent of those with guns admitted they'd obtained them illegally. And nearly one in five who had guns said they carried a semi-automatic or assault-style weapon.
Boys involved in assaults were nearly three times more likely to report having a gun than girls. Having a history of violent fights, using illegal drugs or endorsing the idea of revenge increased the odds that a young person would have a gun. Gang membership was also a factor; slightly more than 9 percent of those with guns said they belonged to a gang while only 1 percent of those with guns said they did not belong to a gang.
"This is a public health crisis," said Dr. Robert Glatter, an attending physician in the department of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.[...]
"People talk about finding a teachable moment," said study author Dr. Patrick Carter, an emergency room physician at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Mich. "These kids are in the ER. They're there for an injury. It may be a time when they're more reflective about their role in violence and substance abuse, and they may be more willing to receive an intervention," he said.
…Continue reading Boys With Guns at High Risk of Assault
1SOURCES:
August 2013 Pediatrics, Patrick Carter, M.D., departments of emergency medicine and psychiatry, University of Michigan Injury Center, and Hurley Medical Center, Flint, Mich.; Robert Glatter, M.D., attending physician, department of emergency medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, N.Y.
We've known since before Columbine that bullying in schools is a serious problem that can lead to tragic outcomes. Teen suicide, teen homicide, and teen underachievement due to the chronic stress/trauma of being bullied all reflect our failures, as adults, to reduce violence in American culture. While it is important that we teach individual responsibility, young people inherited the local and national culture they were born into. They aren’t to blame, we are. And by we, I mean we adults, we who are aware there is a problem with violence in American culture. For some of us, it’s about teaching our own children how to turn away from violence and retribution, for others it’s about challenging adults in our social circle when we see them modeling violence as a means for resolving disputes.
A policy proposal: What if we started teaching middle school and high school students basic principles of self defense? How to acknowledge and defuse criticism? How to de-escalate conflict and retreat with dignity? Age appropriate techniques could be taught in gym class beginning in 7th grade, an age before which teen violence rates rise sharply.
Why gym class? Because body awareness, positioning and resolution of brief moments of conflict are central in sports. Because patience and persistence are essential for learning new skills. And because practice is necessary. Kids need modeling and they need opportunities to practice, and sports are a natural laboratory for modeling and teaching energetic and committed non-violent negotiation. Kids who play sports learn as much, or more, from their teammates as they do from their coach.
What about adults? What if a course in basic principles of self defense and de-escalation was required for anyone applying for a gun license or a concealed carry permit? Could we fund it through a mix of federal tax dollars and license fees, with deep discounts for those suffering financial hardship. The training could also be offered for free to anyone seeking a protection order.
These are just a few nascent policy ideas.2
Suppose that young person in the ER was someone in your life. What interventions would support your efforts to redirect them away from revenge and escalation?
This is an Open Thread.
Join me below the fold for a little context.
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We have adopted Wee Mama's and akadjian's guidance on communicating. But most important, be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
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2 Lilith’s half-baked policy ideas will be on special this Christmas season. Experienced idea bakers, recipe optimizers, and willing tasters are especially welcome in the kitchen.
Please bring your own protective gear; unfortunately Lilith’s patent pending asbestos panties are still in prototype and are not yet commercially available. Membership in the Daily Kos Firearms Law and Policy does not imply agreement with Lilith's policy ideas or baking methods.
This is the context for the back story on each of those young lives in the ER. Each of those youth or young adults has a higher than average risk for a violent death by a gun.
Table I. Leading Causes of Death and Injury – Ages 10-44
Age Groups
10-14 15-24 25-34 35-44
Table I. Top 5 leading causes of death for Americans ages 10-44, 2010
To consider youth violence, particularly young adult firearm violence in context, in Table I I’ve cropped this chart to show the top five leading causes of death for Americans aged 10-44. The chart for all ages is available at
CDC-WASQARS for each year from 2004 through 2010. May I draw your attention to the alarming fact that homicide and suicide are the second and third leading cause of death for Americans between 15-34 years of age. Note that this chart includes homicide or suicide due to all causes.
Now let’s drill down deeper and look at violence-related fatal injuries.
Table II. Leading Causes of Violence-Related Death and Injury – Ages 10-44
Age Groups
10-14 15-24 25-34 35-44
Figure II. Top 5 leading causes of violence-related death for ages 10-44, 2010
In Table II, I’ve cropped this chart to show the top five leading causes of violence-related death for ages 10-44. The chart for all ages is available at
CDC-WASQARS for each year from 2004 through 2010. In the top row you can see that the leading cause of violence-related death for 10-24 year-olds is unintentional motor vehicle deaths. For 25-44 year-olds the leading cause of death is unintentional poisonings, and unintentional motor vehicle deaths drops into second place. In all four brackets firearm homicide and firearm suicides are among the top five leading causes of violence-related death. Please pause and ponder these facts.
Ages 10-14
Gun Homicides - 4th leading cause of death
Gun Suicides - 5th leading cause of death |
Ages 15-24
Gun Homicides - 2nd leading cause of death
Gun Suicides - 4th leading cause of death |
Ages 25-34
Gun Homicides - 3rd leading cause of death
Gun Suicides - 4th leading cause of death |
Ages 35-44
Gun Homicides - 5th leading cause of death
Gun Suicides - 3rd leading cause of death |
This is the context for the story of youth and young people above the fold. This is but one snapshot of the chaotic disruption that gun violence causes during the years that we imagine young people are starting or finishing high school, going to college, falling in love, getting married, starting a family, building a career.
I'll repeat what I've written elsewhere because it is so important. We need to base policy and law on solid evidence. When we compile statistics, we tend to view gun fatalities like these as binary data, as a concrete 2-state function; either the person survived or they died. Yes, it is concrete, and it’s relatively easy to pin death down in time and place. But the toll is much larger than the loss of each life cut short. The relentless forward toll is born by those who survive. Each of those deaths is a shattered family, a child or teen gone too soon, a parent who must face the future raising the children alone, a shattered community, a business, church, or community group that must cope with the unexpected loss of a leader, employee, or volunteer.
Some cynical people may point out, "Yeah, but most of those homicides are criminals killing other criminals." That is true and I believe that the inherent limits of dealing with guns primarily as a criminal justice problem are smacking us in the face week in and week out. Some progressive gun enthusiasts will point out we need a stronger safety net, and economic development. Well, yeah. Duh.
There will be no new national laws, no new single idea that will serve as a panacea to reduce gun violence. We will need to return to some of the ideas we used to be proud of.
It takes a village to raise a child.
I am my brother's keeper.
None of us can afford to hold our own sacred cows back from examination, on the basis of political expediency. We need to set aside our tendencies toward us vs. them categories and instead pool our collective experience to brainstorm with our neighbors, community groups, local and state governments to find new ways to intervene earlier. And not by sending more minority youth into the for-profit prison system. Not by turning away from the shocking and painful reality that gun suicides are rising.
To open the discussion I return to the question I posed above the fold.
Suppose that young person in the ER was someone in your life.
What if that was your son or daughter, your niece or nephew, your child’s best friend, or your neighbor’s kid, in the ER?
Please ask yourself what interventions would support your efforts to redirect them away from violent confrontation and teach them that living well is the best revenge?
Further Reading
Hugh Jim Bissell and I are reporting on firearms and suicide from a public health perspective. To add Hugh Jim Bissell's original diaries to your stream, click on the ♥ or the word "Follow" next to HJB's name.
Center for Disease Control Addresses Gun Violence
Guns and Suicide: Introduction
Guns and Suicide: Gun Suicides Rise and Fall with Gun Sales
Guns and Suicide: The Whos, Whats, and Whys of Guns and Suicide
Firearms Law and Policy Open Thread - Some thoughts on Guns and Suicide
Firearms Law and Policy Frank Talk About Risk - "I can't own a gun"
Mon Dec 09, 2013 at 9:13 PM PT: Thank you all for your conversation and thoughtful comments. I want to develop these ideas further and will monitor this diary and respond to additional comments if late arriving readers choose to comment.