Covert Mission
New member
(Something's working, but its clearly NOT enough for those who would take away RKBA, is it? --CM)
By DAVID PITT
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Firearm deaths among children dropped 10 percent in 1998 and were down 35 percent from the high reached in 1994, the government reported Monday. Overall, Americans are managing to elude death a little bit longer, with life expectancy rising to a record 76.7 years.
The annual report on death rates, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics, indicated falling rates for eight of the 15 leading causes of death.
The report shows 3,792 children and adolescents under age 20 died in 1998 from firearms, down from 4,223 in 1997. That is also down 35 percent from the record high of 5,833 for that age group in 1994, the government said.
‘‘Each day 10 children and teens are killed by firearms, and that is 10 too many,’’ Health and Human Services Secretary Donna F. Shalala said. ‘‘However, it is a significant decrease from four years earlier. This indicates that violence prevention efforts are showing results.’’
Among all ages, firearm deaths dropped 5 percent from 1997 to ’98. The decline was dramatically more for blacks — 22.7 percent for blacks, 9.5 percent for whites.
NCHS statistician Sherry Murphy, one of the report’s authors, said the decline stems from a combination of reasons.
‘‘The data doesn’t show exactly why, but we think there are a number of possibilities including heightened awareness, the strong economy and stronger law enforcement,’’ she said.
President Clinton used the release of the report to call for full Congressional funding of his $280 million National Gun Enforcement Initiative and passage of his gun safety legislation.
‘‘While these figures are encouraging, there is no question that gun violence is still far too prevalent in our nation,’’ Clinton said.
Government officials said administration policies, including hiring more police officers and strict enforcement of gun laws, have helped reduce gun deaths.
‘‘The practices the administration has put in place in the last 71/2 years are working,’’ said Associate Deputy Attorney General Bea Witzleben.
She said the Brady Law background checks before weapons purchases and the assault weapons ban are other policies enacted during the Clinton administration that have helped reduce the gun death rate.
Patricia Gregory, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, disagreed, saying education, safety and prevention programs should be credited for the decline.
‘‘Americans are safer with their lawfully owned firearms than ever before,’’ Gregory said. ‘‘It’s fantastic to see these rates drop and we’ll continue to work on these programs and encourage strict enforcement of existing laws to help reduce the rates even further,’’ Gregory said.
The life expectancy for all Americans climbed from 76.5 in 1997 to 76.7, the result of declining death rates for heart disease, cancer, stroke, suicide, liver disease, Alzheimer’s disease and homicide. The most significant decline was the 9.5 percent drop in deaths caused by hardening of the arteries.
The national death rate of 8.6 per 1,000 population compares to 9.1 in France, 10.8 in Germany, 7.9 in Japan and 10.7 in England.
Deaths from AIDS fell 21 percent from 1997, prompting the government to remove it as one of the 15 leading causes of death.
The statistics also included some bad news, as the death rate from drugs went up 5 percent, reaching the highest rate since 1979.
The infant mortality rate of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births remained steady from 1997 to 1998, after years of decline. The infant mortality rate for blacks is still more than twice that of whites.
Among the top 15 causes of death, those that saw an increase were blood infections, up 4.8 percent, and high blood pressure, up 4.3 percent. Pneumonia and influenza together were up 2.3 percent. Diabetes, kidney and lung disease increased less than 1 percent. Deaths from accidents remained the same.
The report indicates a continued wide disparity in death rates by race.
Among the leading causes of death, the largest racial difference was for homicide, which was nearly six times higher for blacks than for whites. The next highest was high blood pressure, which is nearly four times higher for blacks than for whites.
———
On the Net: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs
AP-WS-07-24-00 1901EDT
By DAVID PITT
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Firearm deaths among children dropped 10 percent in 1998 and were down 35 percent from the high reached in 1994, the government reported Monday. Overall, Americans are managing to elude death a little bit longer, with life expectancy rising to a record 76.7 years.
The annual report on death rates, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics, indicated falling rates for eight of the 15 leading causes of death.
The report shows 3,792 children and adolescents under age 20 died in 1998 from firearms, down from 4,223 in 1997. That is also down 35 percent from the record high of 5,833 for that age group in 1994, the government said.
‘‘Each day 10 children and teens are killed by firearms, and that is 10 too many,’’ Health and Human Services Secretary Donna F. Shalala said. ‘‘However, it is a significant decrease from four years earlier. This indicates that violence prevention efforts are showing results.’’
Among all ages, firearm deaths dropped 5 percent from 1997 to ’98. The decline was dramatically more for blacks — 22.7 percent for blacks, 9.5 percent for whites.
NCHS statistician Sherry Murphy, one of the report’s authors, said the decline stems from a combination of reasons.
‘‘The data doesn’t show exactly why, but we think there are a number of possibilities including heightened awareness, the strong economy and stronger law enforcement,’’ she said.
President Clinton used the release of the report to call for full Congressional funding of his $280 million National Gun Enforcement Initiative and passage of his gun safety legislation.
‘‘While these figures are encouraging, there is no question that gun violence is still far too prevalent in our nation,’’ Clinton said.
Government officials said administration policies, including hiring more police officers and strict enforcement of gun laws, have helped reduce gun deaths.
‘‘The practices the administration has put in place in the last 71/2 years are working,’’ said Associate Deputy Attorney General Bea Witzleben.
She said the Brady Law background checks before weapons purchases and the assault weapons ban are other policies enacted during the Clinton administration that have helped reduce the gun death rate.
Patricia Gregory, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, disagreed, saying education, safety and prevention programs should be credited for the decline.
‘‘Americans are safer with their lawfully owned firearms than ever before,’’ Gregory said. ‘‘It’s fantastic to see these rates drop and we’ll continue to work on these programs and encourage strict enforcement of existing laws to help reduce the rates even further,’’ Gregory said.
The life expectancy for all Americans climbed from 76.5 in 1997 to 76.7, the result of declining death rates for heart disease, cancer, stroke, suicide, liver disease, Alzheimer’s disease and homicide. The most significant decline was the 9.5 percent drop in deaths caused by hardening of the arteries.
The national death rate of 8.6 per 1,000 population compares to 9.1 in France, 10.8 in Germany, 7.9 in Japan and 10.7 in England.
Deaths from AIDS fell 21 percent from 1997, prompting the government to remove it as one of the 15 leading causes of death.
The statistics also included some bad news, as the death rate from drugs went up 5 percent, reaching the highest rate since 1979.
The infant mortality rate of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births remained steady from 1997 to 1998, after years of decline. The infant mortality rate for blacks is still more than twice that of whites.
Among the top 15 causes of death, those that saw an increase were blood infections, up 4.8 percent, and high blood pressure, up 4.3 percent. Pneumonia and influenza together were up 2.3 percent. Diabetes, kidney and lung disease increased less than 1 percent. Deaths from accidents remained the same.
The report indicates a continued wide disparity in death rates by race.
Among the leading causes of death, the largest racial difference was for homicide, which was nearly six times higher for blacks than for whites. The next highest was high blood pressure, which is nearly four times higher for blacks than for whites.
———
On the Net: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs
AP-WS-07-24-00 1901EDT