ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE — As gun violence continues its grim march across America, the scale of the crisis is becoming ever clearer. A new survey reports this astonishing figure: one-in-five American adults have had a family member killed by a gun. And that’s not all. One-in-six Americans have witnessed a shooting; among Black adults, it’s one-in-three. Those are some of the findings from Kaiser Family Foundation polling released this week amid the newest and most recent acts of gun violence. On Monday, a gunman killed five people at a Kentucky bank. Two weeks earlier, Nashville, Tennessee, was the scene of a horrific school shooting that left six people dead, including three 9-year-old children. The vast majority of American adults surveyed reported that they worry, at least sometimes, that they or a loved one will be a victim of gun violence. Among Black and Hispanic people, one-in-three worry every single day, or close to it. Parents of kids under 18 worry more than other adults. In an era of such frequent mass shootings, it’s easy to overlook that gun violence is a far broader problem than those high profile events that draw our attention. Other crimes, including domestic violence, accidents, and yes, suicides are also part of the American gun story. In fact, suicides account for about half of gun deaths; more than half of suicides involve a gun, according to Centers for Disease Control data analyzed by the Pew Research Center l ast year. Despite the overall high concern and awareness of gun violence in America, the survey also found some knowledge gaps. Just shy of half (49 percent) knew that guns are the leading cause of death for children and teenagers ages 1-19 in the U.S . — no other similarly wealthy country comes close. A slightly smaller share (46 percent) knew about the share of gun deaths that were suicides. The Kaiser Family Foundation focuses on health policy and its survey asked several questions about gun violence from a health or public health perspective. The answers were laced with red flags. Fully 44 percent of parents with kids under age 18 said there’s a gun in their house — and a third of that group said the guns were stored loaded, or stored in an unlocked location. Close to two-thirds — 61 percent — said the guns are stored together with ammunition. It’s been several years since the American Medical Association recognized gun violence as a public health problem — but almost all the adults surveyed say no doctor or other health provider has ever talked to them about guns and gun safety. One-in-four parents reported that a pediatrician had asked them about guns in the home — but hadn’t talked about safety. And the prevalence of gun violence in our society means that Americans don’t feel safe. Fully 51 percent of the adults surveyed said gun-related crimes, injuries, and deaths, are either a “constant threat” or a “major concern” in their community. It’s far higher (62 percent) for Black and Hispanic respondents. Those fears are beginning to seep into how we live. Almost everyone surveyed — 84 percent — reported taking some kind of precaution to protect themselves and their families. That ranges from buying a gun for self defense to practicing shooting to avoiding crowded places — like music festivals or clubs — avoiding public transport, changing (or at least thinking about changing) what school their kids go to, or avoiding religious services, celebrations, or cultural events. Some move to different neighborhoods or cities. Of course, some neighborhoods are riskier than others — but as we learn over and over again, gun violence can happen anywhere and everywhere. And, as this week once again showed, it does. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author on Twitter at @JoanneKenen .
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