A handgun is seen as a security blanket, when in reality a handgun in the home endangers its owner's life rather than providing for safety and protection. The best research on this issue demonstrates that a handgun kept in the home nearly triples the likelihood that someone will be murdered there and also increases the risk of suicide fivefold. The debate about handguns has been obscured by the emphasis on crime. In reality, gun violence is a public health issue because it is a disease that affects all of us. Gun violence encompasses homicide, suicide, unintentional shootings and crimes committed with guns.
Prevention is the most effective method of dealing with gun violence.
Just as people are instructed how to avoid other forms of disease, Americans need to learn how to prevent gun violence. The same advice that is given by doctors to instruct patients how to avoid infectious disease can help us avoid and prevent gun violence. Gun violence would solely be a crime problem if only criminals were pulling the trigger and if only criminals were dying. This is just not the case. Innocent people are dying and people with no previous criminal background are pulling the trigger.