Letter to the Editor: Gun violence not a public health crisis on its own

Violence committed by whatever means is not a public health issue. It is a societal issue — one resulting from the actor’s breach of the social contract. Violence is a combination of many issues, including, but not limited to, mental health, socioeconomic, drug, gang, family unit, education, jobs and housing.”

This is a response to Gerald Cohen’s letter (“Senator, what are you thinking?” Feb. 6).

Mr. Cohen opines that he finds it difficult to understand why a number of senators voted against Senate Concurrent Resolution 8. While a resolution is not a bill and is nonbinding, it is not as “vanilla” as Mr. Cohen suggests. The resolution declares that “gun violence is a public health crisis.” I believe that declaration is perhaps one of the reasons that senators voted against the resolution.

Firearms, in and of themselves, are incapable of committing any kind of physical act without human involvement or intervention. It is a person who commits a violent act, with or without a firearm or even a knife or baseball bat. To be at all effective, the emphasis in addressing violent crime must be on the person not the object. Regulating an object will not eliminate or even reduce incidents of violent crime.

I find the resolution misleading and certainly intellectually suspect in equating anti-social violence committed with firearms to the COVID-19 pandemic and somehow declaring it a public health issue. Violence committed by whatever means is not a public health issue. It is a societal issue — one resulting from the actor’s breach of the social contract. Violence is a combination of many issues, including, but not limited to, mental health, socioeconomic, drug, gang, family unit, education, jobs and housing. According to a report from the Statistical Analysis Center of the Delaware Criminal Justice Council dated August 2020, violent offenses actually decreased from 21,101 incidents to 18,306 incidents between 2015 and 2019.

Of the 18,306 incidents of violent crime in Delaware in 2019, there were 173 shooting incidents reported. That equates to a mere 0.9% of the total. Granted, other violent crimes, such as robbery and assault, may have involved a firearm. However, by merely focusing only on firearm shootings, 99% of the bigger picture is being neglected. Of the 173 shooting incidents, 94 were committed in Wilmington, that number being 54% of the statewide total, making it painfully clear that a great deal of attention is needed in Wilmington if we are to realistically and adequately address the true societal issues in need of attention. In other words, if we can craft a meaningful response to the societal issues plaguing the great city of Wilmington, we will undoubtedly also successfully address the same social problems evolving in other parts of our wonderful state — like mental health, economic, drugs, gangs, family unit, education, housing, jobs and a respect for the rights and lives of others, resulting in a greater obedience to the terms of the overall social contract.

It is clear that to decrease the incidents of violent crime, the focus has to be on more than just firearms. Again, the need to focus on the person and not the object is clear — a full 99% of the violent incidents were not shootings.

Now to the “facts” mentioned by Mr. Cohen:

• “Delaware has the 13th-highest number of gun homicides in the country.” Actually, Delaware was 45th in the number of homicides committed with a firearm in 2018 with 107 when one looks at total numbers. Texas had the most firearms deaths at 3,522. Delaware saw a peak in homicides in 2015, at 6.6 per 100,000 population. That rate has since fallen 24%, hitting 5.0 in 2018. That is the lowest rate in the last five years and the third-lowest rate in the last 10 years (according to FBI “Crime in the U.S.” reports). Compare that to the overdose death rate of 43.8 per 100,000. One must also look at the fact that a vast majority of homicides committed with a firearm are drug- and gang-related. Breaking it down a bit further, the city of Wilmington is home to 7% of the state’s population but saw 48% of the murders in 2018 (23 of 48 were there). In 2017, Wilmington saw 34 homicides — which was 65% of all homicides statewide that year.

Another useful fact is that 93% of all suspects in shooting incidents in Delaware have a prior felony arrest and 88% of the victims have a prior felony arrest. This means that bad guys are shooting bad guys.

• “From March through May 2020, unintentional shooting deaths by children increased by more than 30% compared with the same three-month period for the previous three years.” This figure is misleading at best. The definition of children most often includes those up to sometimes 21 years old. In actuality, accidental firearm deaths for children are one-seventh of their peak in 1979. However, when you include those between 15 and 18 years old, which is the prime age for gang participation, the numbers go way up.

• “According to the latest statistics, gun deaths in Delaware increased by 32% between 2009 and 2018.” This “fact” includes suicides, which account for nearly 60% of “gun deaths.” While suicides are unfortunate and, in some cases, preventable, those numbers should not be included.

I would submit that when one takes into account the numbers that I have presented, which are from either state or federal sources, such as those prepared by the Delaware Criminal Justice Council and the FBI, a more accurate picture emerges.

As I stated earlier, by focusing on one aspect of violent crime, the bigger picture is lost. Violent crime as a whole is a public health crisis. The use of firearms is but one small part of the problem. There are many other factors, including socioeconomic, that are part of the problem. In fact, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report commissioned by the city of Wilmington in 2016 made over 20 recommendations to address crime, none of which included more gun laws.

Taken in perspective, the rate of violence committed with a firearm is not increasing and was never high to begin with, if one looks at trends over more than the 10 years the resolution mentions. Any reasonable person, after reviewing the facts I have presented — and there are many more where they come from — would conclude that efforts are needed in many areas if violent crime is to be reduced in Delaware.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Cohen took the “facts” as presented in the resolution as indisputable and did not perform his own research and discover the real numbers.

Jeff Hague

Legislative liaison, Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association

Ellendale