Survey: One in five Americans has a family member killed by a gun

(Patria) - One in five adult Americans has a family member killed by a gun, including suicide, and a similar percentage said they had been threatened with one, AFP reported, citing a survey.

Gun violence, including mass shootings, suicides, and accidents, has become so common in the United States that 84 percent of adult Americans say they have taken precautions to protect themselves and their families from the danger of shootings, according to health data from the research group KFF, which published the survey.

More than one-third of respondents said they avoided large crowds due to the possibility of gun violence. About 29 percent bought a firearm to protect themselves and their families. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 11,631 people were killed in 2023, including 4,965 homicides, accidents, and defensive gun use incidents, and 6,666 by suicide. In 2022, the organization states, 20,249 people died in accidental or defensive shootings. More than 24,000 used a gun to kill themselves.

KFF said that 41 percent of adult Americans live in households where there is a gun, and in 44 percent of these homes, the gun is kept in an unlocked location. Black and Hispanic people reported much more experience knowing someone who was shot and generally feeling threatened by gun violence than white Americans. Three in ten Black adults have personally seen someone shot, the survey found, which is more than double that of white people.

KFF data is based on a survey of 1,271 adults conducted in mid-March.