Fact Checker: John Delaney Says Guns Kill More People Than Cars. Do They?

Thirty-minute ad spots about John Delaney, a Democratic candidate for president and former U.S. representative from Maryland, started airing in Iowa markets last month. The infomercial runs through his stances on hot-button issues like health care, education and gun violence.While on gun issues, Delaney says, “According to the CDC, guns were responsible for nearly 40,000 deaths in 2017, more than the annual number of automobile deaths.” A graphic appears on screen that reads: “39,773 firearm deaths in 2017.”AnalysisIs it true gun deaths outnumbered those caused by cars?The Fact Checker reached out to the Delaney campaign for its sourcing, and it pointed us toward a Vox article and a set of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The most recent data available from the CDC is from 2017.