Gun Deaths

   The U.S. is on track to match the number of gun homicides in Mexico in a year.

   Already, just six months after the massacre of school children in Newtown, Conn., there have been more gun deaths in the U.S. than the number of American troops killed in Iraq. Since Dec. 16, the day of the Newtown shootings, 4,499 people have been killed by guns in the U.S., compared to the 4,409 American troops who died in Iraq.
   During 2011, there were 11,101 gun homicides in America, according to data compiled by the University of Sydney and filed on the Web site gunpolicy.org. In Mexico during 2010, some 11,309 people died from gun violence -- double the rate five years before, and more than five times the number slain in 2002 -- 2,606 people, the study showed.
   In contrast, the number of gun homicides in all of Canada during 2011 was just 158, for a rate of 0.46 per 100,000 population. In the United Kingdom during 2010, there were 27 gun homicides. You read that right -- 27 -- for a rate per 100,000 population of 0.04.
   And in Northern Ireland, a region plagued by sectarian violence for many years, there were just four gun deaths in 2011, for a rate of 0.22.

   This past weekend in Chicago, seven people died from gun violence. In Camden, NJ, 67 people were killed by people with guns last year, for a homicide rate of 61 per 100,000 population. With a total population of about 77,000 people, that makes Camden one of the most dangerous cities in America.
   The people at the Brady Campaign report that each day, on average, 32 people are murdered by gun toters, making the U.S. gun homicide rate 20 times greater than 22 other similar nations combined.

   Aside from the loss of life and human achievement, it's been estimated that the cost to America in medical care, law enforcement, increased security and other expenses comes to $100 billion yearly.

   Those are the numbers to think about. You can ask your own questions.