A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that across all political and social groups in the United States, there is a strong preference against living near AR-15 rifle owners and neighbors who store guns outside of locked safes. This surprising consensus suggests that when it comes to immediate living environments, Americans’ views on gun control may be less divided than the polarized national debate suggests.
The research was conducted against a backdrop of increasing gun violence and polarization on gun policy in the United States. The United States has over 350 million civilian firearms and gun-related incidents, including accidents and mass shootings, have become a leading cause of death in the country. Despite political divides, the new study aimed to explore whether there’s common ground among Americans in their immediate living environments, focusing on neighborhood preferences related to gun ownership and storage.
It says “a leading cause”, not “the leading cause”. Depending on how long your list of leading causes is, anything could qualify.
I skimmed the source they linked, and it lists guns as the leading cause of death for ages 1-19. I did not see an overall list.
I would agree that a more carefully phrased sentence would have been better and less misleading.
Link to source: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/2020-gun-deaths-in-the-us-4-28-2022-b.pdf
English is not my native language but this sounds like it should not be a thing. Sounds like it was made for con artists…
Basically yes. It’s at best a way to hedge their language and avoid being technically wrong, but in practice it can certainly be used in quite misleading ways.
I would say that in my opinion “a leading cause” would need to at least be in the top half, but it could possibly be anything but last since it’s “leading” last place…