More young adults in Wisconsin have been killed with guns than with cars in recent years, a grim trend that demonstrates the degree to which state and national leaders lack the political will necessary to address gun violence in our communities.
In 2016, 201 young adults age 15 to 29 were killed with guns in Wisconsin, compared to 185 young adults killed by motor vehicles.
A decade or so ago the picture was different, with cars killing significantly more young adults in Wisconsin than guns did. For example, in 2006, more than two and a half times as many young adults ages 15 to 29 died in motor vehicle accidents in Wisconsin than from being shot with a gun. Deaths from motor vehicles include those that occur in car crashes, as well as when a motor vehicle hits a pedestrian or a bicycle. Deaths from guns include suicide, homicide, and accidents.
Young adults in Wisconsin ought to be able to live healthy, satisfying lives and contribute to their communities. But lawmakers at the state and national levels haven’t put in place common-sense solutions that would address the changing nature of threats to the well-being of young adults. In fact, too often lawmakers take steps that may actually increase the likelihood that a young adult will be killed by a gun—for example, by making it easier for individuals, including those who have a history of violence, to immediately get their hands on a gun without a waiting period.
Young adults aren’t the only ones paying the price for our failure to act on gun violence. Thirty-three children in Wisconsin were killed with guns in 2016, the highest number in more than a decade. That brings the total number of children killed with guns in Wisconsin to 461 since 1999, or about one child killed every two weeks. Read more from Kids Forward: Lives Cut Too Short: Kids Killed by Guns and Our Failure to Protect Them.
It’s long past time that our leaders act to protect Wisconsin residents of every age from gun violence. So far, that hasn’t happened. Now, lawmakers at every level of government and from both parties need to hear loud and clear from voters that protecting their families and communities from gun violence is a top priority.
