Mike Pankratz placed a letter to the editor that included the claim that 30,000 people were killed by guns in a year (“Human lives worth more than Second Amendment rights,” Feb. 17). I want to enter the fray by stating some facts and providing some perspective.

In a report, likely the source of Pankratz’s letter, “The Epidemiology of Firearm Violence in the Twenty-First Century United States” by Garen J. Wintemute, the findings were that, “In 2012, there were 32,288 deaths from firearm violence in the United States, including 11,622 homicides and 20,666 suicides.”

Facts: 36 percent were homicides.

Perspective: 64 peecent were suicides. I will leave that sad fact alone.

According to the CDC, in 2013 there were 62,324 suicides, of which 21,175 were firearm related and there were 8,438 gun related homicides (FBI).

My point is that Pankratz’s claim that, “by the end of this year, it’s virtually certain that more than 30,000 Americans will die at the hands of gun owners.” is fictitious at best.

I urge everyone to do as a writer a few months back mentioned, do some research. Get the facts and get them right. Don’t be taken in by sensationalism. These facts can easily be found by using Google.

— Gregg Rocheford