Gun Violence

The epidemic of gun violence is a public health crisis affecting communities throughout Pennsylvania. More than 1,500 Pennsylvanians die each year from gun violence — one person every 6 hours. Despite representing just 6 percent of Pennsylvania’s population, Black men account for nearly 64 percent of the state’s gun homicide victims.

More than 900 Pennsylvanians commit suicide by firearms annually, making guns our most lethal means of suicide. The human costs of gun violence are immense.

In Pennsylvania, between 2014 and June 2020, there have been: 

• 14,627 reported incidents involving a firearm

• 8,189 injuries resulting from a firearm

• 158 children (age 0-11) killed or injured

• 921 teens (age 12-17) killed or injured

• 98 mass shootings

• 3,770 deaths from a firearm

• 68 law enforcement officers shot or killed

• 368 individuals shot or killed by a law enforcement officer

• 516 unintentional shootings

Research on suicides by firearm indicates that these acts are often impulsive, and that the vast majority of people – 90 percent – who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide later. However, suicide attempts with firearms are far more likely than other means of suicide to result in death.

Proven solutions for reducing suicides by firearm include putting time and distance between suicidal thoughts and actions and taking steps to prevent access to firearms for people who are depressed, under stress, and considering suicide.

Economic Impacts

The annual economic costs of gun violence in Pennsylvania is a staggering $8.5 billion, or $665 per resident, when considering factors like lost income, employer costs, healthcare, and law enforcement and criminal justice involvement.

Research supported through the Urban Institute has found correlations between surges in gun violence with the health of local economies, including reductions in the growth rate of new retail and service businesses, slowing the appreciation of home values, and decreases in average credit scores, among other negative effects.

Similarly, a 2019 report published by Philadelphia’s Office of the City Controller on the economic impacts of homicide found that a single murder – typically involving firearms – can reduce property values of neighborhood homes by 2.3 percent and leads to secondary impacts such as population declines. This interplay of violence, crime, poverty, and economic mobility is particularly acute for historically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Philadelphia, where gun violence and homicides are concentrated.

Often these same communities have higher levels of poverty and unemployment. Non-fatal injuries also take a toll on these communities. For every firearm homicide in Philadelphia, there are four non-fatal injuries, with each victim at risk for traumatic stress and future violent injuries.

State Preemption

Pennsylvania currently preempts the authority of political subdivisions from adopting local firearm or ammunition laws. By prohibiting local jurisdictions from addressing issues of massive concern to their communities, the state limits the ability of those jurisdictions to meet the needs of their communities at the same time it refuses to adopt policies to protect Pennsylvanians from the scourge of gun violence.

To address the epidemic of gun violence, we must ensure public policies at both the state and local level prioritize areas of greatest need first. Yet state preemption is designed to remove that ability entirely, resulting in the current cycle of violence.

*Note, Pennsylvania has express preemption but comparable firearm death rates to states with extreme preemption.

Policy Priorities

• The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should address the public health crisis of gun violence by passing popular and effective policies that reduce gun violence.

• In the absence of enacting proven policies, the Commonwealth should empower and realize local jurisdictions with the authority and ability to protect their residents themselves. Preemption and state inaction cannot co-exist.