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Eleven Common Ground Steps to

Reducing Gun Violence

Each year for the past five years, Middleham and St. Peter's Episcopal Parish in Lusby has sponsored
communitywide conversations on matters of common concern. This year, the Big Conversation
sessions on January 10 and 13, 2016 focused on gun violence and finding common ground solutions.
Over 150 individuals from Southern Maryland joined in the conversation and a panel of five experts
helped to inform the discussion. The following eleven common ground steps to reducing gun violence
represent the findings shared during the two days.

1. Addressing gun violence as a multi-dimensional issue -: Data on gun violence in the United
States from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) for 2013 is as follows:

• 33,169 firearms deaths
• 84,258 nonfatal firearms injuries
Of the deaths:
• 11,208 were homicides
• 21,175 were suicides
• 10,000 children killed or injured by firearms (Medical Journal Pediatrics)

With suicides as a majority of gun deaths and homicides and children killed or injured in significant
numbers, reducing gun violence is a complex issue requiring multiple solutions.

2. Accessing data and enabling research - Congressional and state level lawmakers too often are
blocking the collection of firearms data, thereby diminishing the opportunity for research on the causes.
There is a critical need for more data and its analysis if solutions are to be identified for the reduction of
gun violence.

3. Making gun safety a public health issue - If gun safety were approached as car safety has been,
our country could likely experience a substantial reduction in gun deaths, just as we have seen in
reducing auto deaths. Part of this may include making guns safer through improved locks, storage,
registration, and training requirements. A good example would be the promotion of smart technology to
limit gun use to the gun owner.

4. Addressing the problems and challenges of guns in the home -
• The panel member representing the Sheriff's Department indicated that it is nearly impossible for
a homeowner with a firearm to make a timely response to an intruder. He was only aware of one
case in Calvert over the past few years.
• According to the American Public Health Association, for every one time that a gun in the home is
used for self defense, there are four cases of unintended or accidental death, seven cases of gun
deaths from domestic violence, and eleven suicides.
• According to the New England Journal of Medicine, if there is a gun in the home, there is a 480%
increase in the likelihood of a suicide. If the gun is unsecured and unlocked and loaded, that
increases by three times. If there is a child in the house, it increases by six times.
• It is critically important to properly and effectively secure guns in the home, especially keeping
guns secure from children