Data lab | Numbers speak volumes: America's unique struggle with gun violence

In just the first few months of the year,shootings have frequently grabbed headlines.According to the Gun Violence Archive, at least 13,959 people have died in the United States from gun violence as of May 1, 2023- or around 115 people each day on average.

85 children and 491 teenagers were among those who died.

The vast majority of deaths from gun violence this year have been suicides. In 2023, there were 66 suicide fatalities on average each day.

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There have been 184 mass shootings in 2023 so far, which is defined by the Gun Violence Archive as an incident in which four or more victims are shot or killed. These mass shootings have led to 248 deaths and 744 injuries.

The majority of these deaths have taken placein Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois and Louisiana.

Alabama became the most recent state in the United States to eliminate the requirement for a state permit that includes a background check to carry a concealed handgun.In simple terms, a person no longer needs a license to legally carry a concealed handgun in public as per this law.

With this move, half of the 50 states in the US now let anyone carry handguns without a permit—a provision that was restricted to Vermont and Alaska 13 years ago.

As perCenters for Disease Control and Prevention firearm fatality data for 2020,the total number of deaths from firearm-related incidents in the US rose to 45,222 in 2020, the most the CDC has ever documented since it started keeping track of such deaths in 1968.This roughly translates to 124 individuals on an average dying from gun violence each day.

American gun ownership rates are the highest in the world

A 2018 report by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey discovered that US gun owners had 393.3 million firearms, which is more than the nation's current population of 330 million.

In a study by the Annals of Internal Medicine, it was discovered that between January 2019 and April 2021, 7.5 million Americansor slightly under three per cent of the population, became first-time gun owners.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics published research in 2021 that connected increased gun ownership during the pandemic to greater instances of child gun injuries, includingself-inflictedinjuries too.

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US gun killings compared with other countries

Data from the CDC shows that homicides accounted for 19,384 deaths in 2020 or 43 per centof all deaths. The statistic indicates a 75 per cent rise over the previous ten years and a 34 per cent increase from 2019.The statistics show that in the US, a firearm claimsclose to 53 livesper day. The research also reveals that 79 per centof homicides were committed using firearms.

In the infographic: Global comparison of gun-related killings as a % of all homicides (Source: CDC)

Rise in mass shootings in the US

Data from Washington-based Gun Violence Archive shows thatthere were more than 600 mass shootings in the United States in 2022 alone, more than twice the 336 mass shootings that were reported four years prior. As defined broadly, a mass shooting is any occurrence in which four or more people—excluding the shooter—are shot or killed.

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Americans on gun laws

American support for tougher gun restrictions in 2020 dropped to its lowest level since 2014 according to polling conducted by Gallup (a US-basedanalytics company)despite significant and vociferous public outcry, frequently following instances of gun tragedy. Only 52 per cent of polled Americans indicated they favoured tougher gun legislation, while 35 per centsaid that the laws should remain unchanged.

In the study, 11 per centof respondents thought that rules should be "made less strict." In addition to being incredibly politicised and controversial, the subject generally divides people into different political camps.

Based on the sameresearch, Democrats support stronger gun legislation almost unanimously, with approximately 91 per centof them being in favour. Contrarily, only 24 per centof Republicans and 45 per cent of Independent voters had the same opinion.

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