Firearms deaths pass fatal crashes as top nonmedical killer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Effective safe-driving campaigns and increase in suicides have pushed firearm deaths ahead of car crashes as the leading nonmedical cause of deaths in Missouri.

The Kansas City Star reported 880 people were killed by guns in Missouri in 2013, the most recent federal data available, while 781 died in car crashes.

Safety advocates say some of the same approaches used to reduce traffic fatalities could be used to lower the number of people killed with firearms.

But gun advocates like Kevin Jamison, head of the Gladstone-based Western Missouri Shooters Alliance, says the two issues aren't related because nobody is trying to outlaw cars.

On the suicide issue, there were 80 firearm homicides in Kansas in 2013, while there were 240 firearm suicides.

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com