from POWER POINT, winner of the 2025 National Press Women Communications Prize
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Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease, 2021. All-cause firearm mortality (accidental & intentional) per 100K. High-income nations, population >10M.
POINT BLANK. Comprehensive Gun Violence-Related Deaths per 100,000 Population, 2021, rendered inside the silhouette of a handgun. The US leads at approximately 6.0 — all peer countries below 1.0. Is cost of living more expensive when guns and lives are cheap?
'Point Blank' renders comprehensive gun violence data inside the silhouette of a handgun, showing the US leads peer nations by orders of magnitude. The “magazine” spread layout of the poem borrows from the info-graphic aesthetic. The use of bright primary colors, specifically red, white, and blue, is evocative of action and patriotic themes. The symbolic “red line” is a nod to a thermometer hitting the boil. An earlier version of this poem was first published in Writers Resist.
From POWER POINT (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2024).
The data behind 'Point Blank' — from firearm homicides (the metric in the poem) to comprehensive mortality, child deaths, and breakdown by type.
Firearm Homicides per 100K — US vs. Peer Countries, 2021
Source: IHME, Global Burden of Disease, 2021. Firearm homicide deaths only (excludes suicide and unintentional). This is the metric visualized in the poem above — the US recorded 4.52 firearm homicides per 100,000 people, the highest rate among high-income peer nations.
International Comparison — All Firearm Deaths per 100K, 2021
Source: IHME, Global Burden of Disease, 2021; United Nations population data. Comprehensive firearm mortality across high-income nations (population >10M). Includes all causes — homicide, suicide, and unintentional.
Child & Teen Firearm Deaths — US vs. Peer Countries, 2021
Source: KFF, "Child and Teen Firearm Mortality," 2023; CDC WISQARS. In 2020, firearms became the #1 cause of death for American children and teenagers — surpassing car accidents.
US Gun Deaths by Type — 2021
Source: CDC, WISQARS, 2021. More than half of all gun deaths are suicides — a fact often absent from the public debate about gun violence.
Also on gun violence: Exclamation Point →