Guns Are Now More Likely To Kill Americans Than Car Accidents

(CBS SF) -- Americans are more likely to die from gunfire than car accidents, according to data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Improved technology, tougher laws and fewer young people driving have led to safer streets while suicides, accidents and domestic violence with guns continue to increase, according to the CDC.

Last year, the Center for American Progress detected a trend that by the end of 2012, firearms would surpass cars as the leading cause of death for people under 25. Now Bloomberg Government's compilation of recent CDC data concludes that gun deaths would outnumber those from cars for all age groups.

The Economist wrote about the projection, saying:

Comparing the two national icons, cars and guns, yields "a statistic that really resonates with people," says Chelsea Parsons, co-author of the report for the Center for American Progress. Resonance is certainly needed. There are about 320 [million] people in the United States, and nearly as many civilian firearms. And although the actual rate of gun ownership is declining, enthusiasts are keeping up the number in circulation.

Laws over cars, which are operated on government-built roads and subject to strict regulation, are easier to control. Meanwhile, America's obsession with guns -- elevated by the Second Amendment ensuring an individual has the right to bear arms -- makes it difficult for the government to create gun-curbing legislation.