Deaths - Final Data for 2013

That's the title of a report just issued by the Center for Disease Control.  It looks at how people die in the United States, and it's an interesting read.  But, you won't see it trumpeted by any of the gun-banner folks, because it seems that violent firearm homicide doesn't make the list.  Not the top-15 list anyway.

You're most likely to die from heart disease in the US, although the other leading causes of death are Malignant neoplasms, or respiratory issues, or even accidents.  I understand that if your heart stops beating (heart disease) or if you quit breathing (respiratory issues) cause death, and I'm fairly ignorant about malignant neoplasms, but those don't sound good either.  Accidents come in fourth (falling down stairs, getting run over by a garbage truck, etc).  You can go to the list and see it all, and the leading causes of death in the US even include suicide at #10, but I don't see violent homicide anywhere.

The simple fact is that you're most likely to die when your heart stops beating, or when your lungs quit filling with air.  Or by falling down stairs than you are to be killed in a violent encounter with a gun.  The report doesn't even talk about firearms deaths until page 10, and there they distinguish between suicide and homicide.

The age-adjusted death rate from firearm injuries (all intents) did not change significantly in 2013 from 2012. The two major component causes of firearm injury deaths in 2013 were suicide (63.0%) and homicide (33.3%). The age-adjusted death rate for firearm homicide decreased 5.3%, from 3.8 in 2012 to 3.6 in 2013. The rate for firearm suicide did not change significantly.

You're still more likely to die by a fall than by a violent homicide.

Hat tip to Firehand.