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America's gun culture in charts America's gun culture - in seven charts
(5 months later)
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Biden on US gun violence: 'This is an epidemic'Biden on US gun violence: 'This is an epidemic'
US president Joe Biden's announcement on gun control throws the spotlight once again on Americans' attitudes to firearms. It was over 50 years ago when the administration of President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared that "firearms are a primary instrument of death in American crime" and that it was "primarily the result of our culture's casual attitude towards firearms and its heritage of the armed, self-reliant citizen".
Here is a selection of charts and maps on where America stands on the right to bear arms. At the time, about 90 million guns were circulating in the country.
How does the US compare with other countries? Today, there are many more guns and many more deaths.
There were 14,400 gun-related homicides in 2019. Firearms deaths have become even more of a fixture in American life, with the 1.5 million that took place between 1968 and 2017 higher than the number of soldiers killed in every US conflict since the American War for Independence in 1775.
Killings involving a gun accounted for nearly three quarters of all homicides in the US in that year. In 2020 alone, more than 45,000 Americans died at the end of a barrel of a gun, wherther by homicide or suicide, more than any other year on record. The figure represents a 25% increase from five years prior, and a 43% increase from 2010.
That's a larger proportion of homicides than in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, and many other countries. But the issue is a highly political one, pitting gun control advocates against sectors of the population fiercely protective of their constitutionally-enshrined right to bear arms.
Who owns the world's guns? Here's what we know about America's gun culture and the impact it has.
While it is difficult to know exactly how many guns civilians own around the world, by every estimate the US, with more than 390 million, is far out in front. The latest figures from the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based leading research project, are for 2018. How many guns are there in the US?
Switzerland and Finland are two of the European countries with the most guns per person - they both have compulsory military service for all men over the age of 18. The Finnish interior ministry says about 60% of gun permits are granted for hunting - a popular pastime in Finland. Cyprus and Yemen also have military service. While calculating the number of guns in private hands around the world is difficult, figures from the Small Arms Survey - a Swiss-based leading research project - estimate that there were 390 million guns in circulation in 2018,
The US ratio of 120.5 firearms per 100 residents, up from 88 per 100 in 2011, far surpasses that of other countries around the world.
More recent data also suggests that gun ownership grew significantly over the last several years. One study, published by the Annals of Internal Medicine in February, found that 7.5 million US adults - just under 3% of the population - became first new gun owners between January 2019 and April 2021.
This, in turn, exposed 11 million people to firearms in their homes, including 5 million children. About half of new gun owners in that time period were women, while 40% were either black or Hispanic.
A separate study, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2021, linked a rise in gun ownership during the pandemic to higher rates of gun injuries among - and inflicted by - children.
How do US gun deaths break down?How do US gun deaths break down?
Figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were a total of more than 38,300 deaths from guns in 2019 - of which more than 23,900 were suicides. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a total of 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries of all causes during 2020, the last year for which complete data is available.
And while mass shooting and gun murders generally garner more media attention, of the total, 54% - about 24,300 deaths - were suicides.
A 2016 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found there was a strong relationship between higher levels of gun ownership in a state and higher firearm suicide rates for both men and women.A 2016 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found there was a strong relationship between higher levels of gun ownership in a state and higher firearm suicide rates for both men and women.
The number of mass shootings fell last year during the pandemic. Advocates for stricter gun laws in the United States often cite this statistic when pushing lawmakers to devote more resources to mental health and fewer to easing gun restrictions.
According to investigative magazine Mother Jones, which has been tracking such incidents since 1982, there were only two in the whole of 2020. Mother Jones defines a mass shooting as three or more people shot dead. How do US gun killings compare with other countries?
It does not include violent crimes like robberies or gang-related violence in its statistics. In 2020, 43% of the deaths - amounting to 19,384 people - were homicides, according to data from the CDC. The figure represents a 34% increase from 2019, and a 75% increase over the course of the previous decade.
Other figures from the Gun Violence Archive suggest mass shooting may have risen last year. It uses a broader definition of shootings including those where victims are shot and injured, as well as robberies. Nearly 53 people are killed each day by a firearm in the US, according to the data.
Attacks in US become deadlier The data also shows that the vast majority of murders, 79%, were carried out with guns.
The Las Vegas attack in 2017 was the worst mass shooting in recent US history - and eight of the shootings with the highest number of casualties happened within the past 10 years. That's a significantly larger proportion of homicides than is the case in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, and many other countries.
Are mass shootings becoming deadlier?
Deaths from the "mass shootings" that attract international attention, however, are harder to track.
While the country does not have a single definition for "mass shootings", the FBI has for over a decade tracked "active shooter incidents" in which "an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area".
According to the FBI, there were 345 "active shooter incidents" in the United States between 2000-2020, resulting in more than 1,024 deaths and 1,828 injuries.
The deadliest such attack, in Las Vegas in 2017, killed more than 50 people and left 500 wounded. The vast majority of mass shootings, however, leave fewer than 30 people dead.
Who supports gun control?Who supports gun control?
US public opinion on gun laws has fluctuated over recent years. Despite widespread and vocal public outrage - often in the wake of gun violence - American support for stricter gun laws in 2020 fell to the lowest level since 2014, according to polling by Gallup.
Opinion polling by Gallup suggests that a majority of Americans would like to see the laws covering the sale of firearms made more strict. Only 52% of Americans surveyed said they wanted stricter gun laws, while 35% said they should remain the same.
Eleven percent surveyed said laws should be "made less strict".
The issue is also one that is hyper-partisan and extremely divisive, falling largely along party lines.
"Democrats are nearly unanimous in their support for stricture gun laws," the same Gallup study noted, with nearly 91% in favour of stricter gun laws.
Only 24% Republicans, on the other hand, agreed with the same statement, along with 45% of Independent voters.
Some states have taken steps to ban or strictly regulate ownership of assault weapons. Laws vary by state but California, for example, has banned ownership of assault weapons with limited exceptions.Some states have taken steps to ban or strictly regulate ownership of assault weapons. Laws vary by state but California, for example, has banned ownership of assault weapons with limited exceptions.
Some controls are widely supported by people across the political divide - such as restricting the sale of guns to people who are mentally ill, or on "watch" lists. Some controls are widely supported by people across the political divide - such as restrictions governing the sale of guns to people who are mentally ill or on "watch" lists.
Who opposes gun control?Who opposes gun control?
The National Rifle Association (NRA) campaigns against all forms of gun control in the US and argues that more guns make the country safer. Despite years of financial woes and internal strife, the National Rifle Association (NRA) remains the most powerful gun lobby in the United States, with a substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy.
It is among the most powerful special interest lobby groups in the US, with a substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy. In January, the NRA filed for bankruptcy as part of a fraud case against some of its own senior staff. Even after the move, it vowed to continue "confronting anti-Second Amendment activities, promoting firearm safety and training, and advancing public programs across the United States".
Figures from the Center for Responsive Government suggest that groups advocating stricter gun controls actually spent more than gun rights groups like the NRA in 2018. Over the last several election cycles, it, and other organisations, have consistently spent more on pro-gun rights messaging than their rivals in the gun control lobby.
In January 2021, the NRA filed for bankruptcy as part of a fraud case against some of its own senior staff. A number of states have also gone as far as to largely eliminate restrictions on who can carry a gun. In June 2021, for example, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a "permitless carry bill" that allows the state's residents to carry handguns without a license or training.
The NRA said it would continue "confronting anti-Second Amendment activities, promoting firearm safety and training, and advancing public programs across the United States". Similarly, on 12 April Georgia became the 25th in the nation to eliminate the need for a permit to conceal or openly carry a firearm. The law means any citizen of that state has the right to carry a firearm without a licence or a permit.
The law was backed by the NRA, and leaders within the organisation called the move "a monumental moment for the Second Amendment".