Let’s Talk About Data

Jun 20, 2024

I ended my panel appearance at The Aspen Institute by emphasizing that we shouldn’t let data slow our efforts to save lives. While I stand by that statement, I recognize that the firearm community needs to improve its use of data. Data is essential for securing funding and demonstrating impact, particularly for firearm industry-led organizations like Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation and Walk the Talk America. We must leverage data effectively to support our initiatives rather than avoid it due to its use by anti-gun organizations. In this article, I’ll share my frustrations with recent data and illustrate how there is data that can be used to support the Second Amendment.

We recently hosted Derek LeBlanc from the Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation on our podcast to discuss this topic. You can watch the video here.

Deconstructing the Data on Gun Violence The Importance of Educating Children about Gun Safety

Frustrations with Data

Walk the Talk America has been updating the numbers we use in our resources, training, and consulting work. The process was frustrating. For example, different sources define age groups inconsistently: some report firearm injuries among children aged 1-17, while others use 1-19.

Mass shootings present another challenge, with varying definitions and statistics. The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as:

“GVA uses a purely statistical threshold to define mass shooting based ONLY on the numeric value of 4 or more shot or killed, not including the shooter. GVA does not parse the definition to remove any subcategory of shooting. To that end, we don’t exclude, set apart, caveat, or differentiate victims based upon the circumstances in which they were shot.”

In contrast, the FBI defines an “active shooter” as:

“The FBI defines ‘active shooter’ as one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. Recent active shooter incidents have underscored the need for a coordinated response by law enforcement and other first responders to save lives.”

In 2022, the FBI reported 313 active shooter incidents, with 100 deaths and 213 injuries, while the Gun Violence Archive reported 644 mass shooting incidents. Using the definition of the GVA above, those numbers aren’t even close to the same. These differences in vital statistics can lead to frustrations between organizations wanting to report on this and users encountering vastly different numbers. 

Despite these frustrations, we must use the available data to support our solutions. Let’s now focus on some positive takeaways.

Positive Takeaways

The Ad Council recently published a gun violence study that surveyed 3,000 individuals. While there are issues to critique, such as the underrepresentation of gun owners (only 36% of respondents were from gun-owning households), the data provides significant insights.

One key finding is that:

“74% of total survey respondents think having a gun at home makes them safer, even more so among parents (80% compared to 71% of non-parents).”

WTTA_ACRIGunViolenceReport_BlogSnippets_P09

This is important, as it shows that a majority of respondents, despite many not owning guns, understand one of the primary reasons people choose to own firearms.

Another critical finding concerns actions that could reduce gun violence. The survey revealed that:

“Educating your kids about gun safety” was believed by 89% of respondents to have a positive impact on reducing gun violence.

WTTA_ACRIGunViolenceReport_BlogSnippets_P11

This compelling statistic supports organizations like the Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation and Kids To Kings, which promote gun safety education from within the firearms community.

The survey also highlighted the importance of responsible firearm storage, aligning with Walk the Talk America’s mission. Now, the answer did have to keep guns and ammunition separate, which we would push back on, as many responsible gun owners store firearms in quick-access safes for defensive purposes with ammo in the same lock box or even already in the magazine of the secured gun. Yet I don’t blame non-gun owners for not understanding that caveat is a big red flag for gun owners, but it sounds like it makes sense to people outside the gun community.

Conclusion

While data can be frustrating and sometimes used to challenge the Second Amendment, we need to use it more effectively to support our efforts. By going on the offense and sharing our culture and perspective, we can demonstrate that the firearms industry has viable solutions to reduce firearm-related deaths. This report exemplifies how we can find supportive data even within broader studies. Educating kids on gun safety and promoting responsible firearm storage are key areas where we can make a positive impact.

Next time you encounter unfavorable data, take a moment to identify aspects that can support your beliefs.