US EditionGuns Marketed for Personal Safety Fuel Public Health Crisis in Black Communities
Gun violence leaves thousands with long-term disabilities and prompts survivors like Leon Harris to consider firearms for personal safety, highlighting ongoing public health challenges.
- In recent years, Leon Harris, 35, a gun-violence survivor outside Philadelphia, is considering buying a gun to protect his daughter after being paralyzed nearly two decades ago.
- During the pandemic, firearm deaths rose to more than 45,000 Americans while about 1 in 5 American households bought a gun; gun stores stayed open as essential businesses and received over $150 million via the Paycheck Protection Program.
- Surveys show most Americans who own a gun say it makes them feel safer, but public-health data found that having a gun doubles homicide risk and triples suicide risk in a home.
- An industry trade group acknowledged shifting marketing toward Black people and communities of color amid rising ownership and profits, while the Department of the Interior gave a $215,000 grant to the National Shooting Sports Foundation in 2024.
- Families and survivors endure lasting trauma and PTSD, as gun violence researchers say parents and families carry lasting anxiety while groups like the Jacksonville Survivors Foundation support grieving parents and survivors like Harris live with daily reminders.
38 Articles
38 Articles
Guns fuel crisis in Black communities
PHILADELPHIA — Leon Harris, 35, is familiar with the devastation guns can inflict. Robbers shot him in the back nearly two decades ago, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. The bullet remains lodged in his spine.
Marin Independent Journal
Guns marketed for personal safety fuel public health crisis in Black communities
By Fred Clasen-Kelly and Daniel Chang, KFF Health News PHILADELPHIA — Leon Harris, 35, is intimately familiar with the devastation guns can inflict. Robbers shot him in the back nearly two decades ago, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. The bullet remains lodged in his spine. “When you get shot,” he said, “you stop thinking about the future.” He is anchored by his wife and child and faith. He once wanted to work as a forklift driver but …
Guns fuel health crisis in Black communities
PHILADELPHIA — Leon Harris, 35, is familiar with the devastation guns can inflict. Robbers shot him in the back nearly two decades ago, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. The bullet remains lodged in his spine.
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