Some may claim that the United States is #1 and this is definitely true, when it comes to ranking 1st for having the highest firearm-related mortality rate in the developed world (Gold, 2013). In 2013, gun violence resulted in 33,636 firearm deaths in the United States, establishing a mortality rate of 10.6 per 100,000 population (CDC, 2013). In 2011 alone, a total of 478,400 incidences of fatal and nonfatal firearm violence were committed in the United States (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2013). Since 1968, gun violence has resulted in 1.3 million American deaths, which outnumbers the death toll of all wars in the nation’s history combined (California Department of Public Health, 2014). By addressing gun violence as a public health issue, countless lives can be saved, but first, we must bite the bullet and face the reality of our society. As the name suggests, gun violence specifically pertains to violence carried out using a firearm and the condition can appear in cases of homicide, suicide, aggravated assault, and robbery (National Institute of Justice, 2013).

Defined as the deliberate use of physical power or force, actual or threatened, against oneself or others, violence either results in or has serious potential of resulting in psychological harm, injury, and death (World Health Organization, 2015). As a major threat to the safety and wellbeing of the public, gun violence is a social condition that needs to be addressed immediately.

Biting the bullet sc