How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown?

I have posted statistics before from the above named website.  The answer to that question today is 11,449.  But now the Slate sponsors of this site discuss why their numbers are not accurate.  Their statistics report on gun deaths reported in the media.  Suicides are not usually reported in the media and have therefore been missing from Slate’s numbers.  They estimate their chart is missing 20,000 gun deaths.

The number of suicide deaths by guns greatly changes Slate’s chart.  And studies show that suicides are more prevalent when guns are easily available (already in the house).  But making the suicide numbers readily available has problems to says Cathy Barber, director of the Means Matter campaign at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Injury Control Research Center.

Covering the suicide issue is important and helpful insofar as it helps people to understand that the largest numbers of gun deaths in America are suicides. But there’s a bad side to bringing attention to the data. It may have a demoralizing effect on people who are suicidal. 

I wish I had a hopeful conclusion to these issues.