With growing evidence that Republicans in Congress will advance gun control measures following the Islamist attack in Orlando, Fla., Democrats are ramping up the pressure by declaring gun violence in the U.S. a “public health emergency.”
But is it, really?
According to the BMJ—formerly known as The British Medical Journal, one of the foremost clinical authorities in health and medicine—it’s not even close. Using the BMJ‘s numbers, as well as a few more from other sources, here is rundown of the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S.
- 1. Abortion—the BMJ doesn’t compile this data, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data is incomplete. The Guttmacher Institute, a largely pro-abortion organization, offers the most complete assessment, although it hasn’t published new numbers in a couple of years. According to the Guttmacher data, however, abortion tops out with nearly 1,058,500 deaths in 2012—a number that has been slowly trending downward for about 20 years.
- 2. Heart Disease—the BMJ recognizes chronic heart disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S. with more than 614,300 deaths last year.
- 3. Cancer—591,700
- 4. Medical Error—this leading cause of death made headlines earlier this year when it was reported by the Washington Post. The BMJ notes this is number is difficult to track, because many deaths caused by medical error are officially listed under another cause. But it still accounted for more than 251,400 deaths last year.
- 5. Respiratory Disease—the BMJ doesn’t include influenza or pneumonia in this number as they fall under their own category, but last year, these accounted for 147,100 deaths in the U.S.
- 6. Accidents—136,100
- 7. Stroke—133,100
- 8. Alzheimer’s Disease—93,500
- 9. Diabetes—76,500
- 10. Influenza/Pneumonia—55,200
Other notable causes of death more common than homicide or homicide by gun include:
- Kidney disease (48,100)
- Drug overdose (46,500)
- Suicide (42,800)
- Septicemia (38,200)
- Liver Disease/Cirrhosis (36,400)
- Alcohol Poisoning (29,000)
- Parkinson’s Disease (25,200)
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, an agency of the Department of Justice, there were 14,600 homicides in the U.S. in 2011 (the most recent year reported by the Obama Administration). That number had been trending downward for more than 40 years at that point.
And while guns are most commonly used in murders in the U.S., the BJS reported only 9,900 American deaths were the result of homicide by gun.
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