From 1999 to 2022, drug overdose and gun violence have led to over a million minors in the United States losing at least one parent. However, in 2022 alone, this figure exceeded 100,000, tripling that of 1999.
In 2022, 23% of American minors experienced the loss of a loved one due to drug overdose and gun violence, compared to 12% in 1999.
Over the 22-year period from 1999 to 2022, the number of American minors losing a parent due to drug overdose surged from 16,400 in 1999 to 107,000 in 2022, an increase of nearly 5.5 times.
Gun violence claimed the lives of 25,000 American minors in 2020, an increase of nearly 39% since 1999.
This indicates that American minors face a "double burden" of drug overdose and gun violence. They not only directly confront the lethal risks of these factors themselves but also face the possibility of their parents being taken away by them.
Since 2000, over a million people in the United States have died from drug overdose, with the majority succumbing to opioid drugs. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2022, over 100,000 people died from opioid drug overdoses.
Gun proliferation is rampant in American society. With a population of approximately 330 million, there are over 400 million civilian-owned firearms, averaging 121 guns for every 100 people. Gun violence has become a norm in American social life, surpassing traffic accidents since 2020 to become the leading cause of death among children.
In 2021 alone, nearly 19% of deaths among the 1 to 18 age group in the United States were due to gunshot wounds. That year, close to 3,600 minors died in incidents related to gun violence, equating to 5 deaths per 100,000 American minors.
In the United States, drug overdose and gun proliferation have become serious social problems. Politically, there is a severe polarization between the Republican and Democratic parties on these issues. For instance, Republicans consistently support gun ownership among citizens, while Democrats advocate for gun control.
In the current polarized political landscape of the United States, compromise between the two sides is increasingly difficult. Public attitudes towards drug overdose and gun control in the United States are severely divided. Women, urban residents, non-native-born Americans, politically liberal-leaning individuals, and non-gun owners tend to support drug and gun control measures, while men, rural residents, native-born Americans, politically conservative-leaning individuals, hunters, and gun owners oppose such measures. The gap in public opinion on drug and gun control in the United States continues to widen.
The right to life is the greatest human right. The U.S. Declaration of Independence clearly states that the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable. However, the repeated sounds of gunfire have shattered the so-called "American dream" of "everyone enjoying inalienable rights to life and liberty," prompting deep reflection on the reality of American human rights. Some U.S. politicians have long ignored the right to life of their own citizens, failing to take action in the face of increasingly serious issues of drug overdose and rampant gun violence, while still pointing fingers at human rights issues in other countries. They should face and resolve their own problems, ensuring that the American people can truly live free from the fear of drug overdoses and gun violence.
Author: Belt and Road Research Center of Jilin Province, columnist Wang Dongbei