Nashville school shooting: How many mass shootings don happun for US for 2023?

Gun sale for Virginia

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Data show gun ownership for di US don grow ova di last several years

Gun violence na something wey dey permanent for American life – but di issue dey highly political, as e dey put gun control advocates against pipo wey fiercely dey protective of dia right to carry arms.

We don look into some of di numbers behind firearms for di US.

Mass shootings on di rise

More dan 130 mass shootings na im don happun across di US so far dis year, including di attack for one school for Nashville, wia three children plus three adults die.

Figures from di Gun Violence Archive – one non-profit research database – show say di number of mass shootings don go up well-well in recent years.

For each of di last three years, more dan 600 mass shootings na im don happun, almost two a day on average.

Mass shootings chart show di number of mass shooting events for di US since 2014 when na about 73 to 2023 when there have been 131 so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The worst year was 2021 with 690 mass shootings recorded

BBC

While di US no get any single definition for “mass shootings”, di Gun Violence Archive define mass shooting as incident wey four or more pipo injure or die.

Dia figures include shootings wey happun for homes and for public places.

Di deadliest of dat kain attack for Las Vegas for 2017, kill more dan 50 pipo and 500 pipo injure. For most of di mass shooting, pipo wey dey die, no dey less dan 10.

Chart show worst mass shootings for US since 1991

BBC

How do US gun deaths break down?

48,830 pipo die from gun-related injuries for di US during 2021, according to di latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dat na 8% increase from 2020, wey be record-breaking year for firearm deaths.

While mass shootings and gun murders (homicides) dey generally gada plenty media attention, more dan half of di total for 2021 na suicides.

Chart show breakdown of gun-related deathsf or di US

BBC

Dat year, more dan 20,000 of di deaths be homicides, according to di CDC.

Data show say more dan 50 pipo die sake of firearms everyday for US.

E big pass di proportion of homicides case for Canada, Australia, England and Wales, and many oda kontris.

Graphic show international comparison of gun-related killings as a percentage of all homicides for each country. Di US dey lead wit nearly 79% of all homicides occurring wit guns.

BBC

How many guns dey for di US?

While calculating di number of guns for private hands around di world dey difficult, di latest figures from di Small Arms Survey – one Swiss-based research project – estimate say 390 million guns dey for circulation doe di US for 2018.

Di US ratio of 120.5 firearms per 100 residents, up from 88 per 100 for 2011, pass dat of oda kontris around di world.

Chart show civilian gun ownership around di world

BBC

More recent data from di US suggest say gun ownership grow significantly over di last few years. One study, wey di Annals of Internal Medicine publish for February, discover say 7.5 million US adults become new gun owners between January 2019 and April 2021.

Dis, in turn, expose 11 million pipo to firearms for dia homes, including 5 million children. About half of new gun owners for dat time period na women, while 40% be either black or Hispanic.

Who support gun control?

Majority of Americans dey in favour of gun control.

57% of Americans for survey tok say dem want stricter gun laws – although dis reduce last year – according to polling by Gallup.

32% say make di laws remain di same, while 10% of people for inside survey make e dey “less strict”.

Gun control opinion

BBC

Di issue dey extremely divisive, and e fall largely along party lines.

“Democrats dey in unity wit dia support for stricter gun laws,” another Gallup study note , wit nearly 91% in favour of stricter gun laws.

Only 24% Republicans, on di oda hand, agree wit di same statement, along wit 45% of Independent voters.

Some states don take take steps to ban or strictly regulate ownership of assault weapons. Laws vary by state but California, for example, don ban ownership of assault weapons wit limited exceptions.

Map showing states with assault weapon bans - California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York & Washington DC, and those with restrictions Minnesota, Virginia and Washington, March 2023

BBC

Some controls dey widely supported by pipo across di political divide – like di restrictions wey dey govern di sale of guns to pipo wey dey mentally ill or on “watch” lists.

Who opposes gun control?

Despite years of financial woes and internal strife, di National Rifle Association (NRA) don remain di most powerful gun lobby for di United States, wit a substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy.

Over di last several election cycles, im, and oda organisations, don consistently spend more on pro-gun rights as dem dey message dia rivals for gun control lobby.

Chart show spending by gun rights and gun control groups. Updated 8 April 2021

BBC

Some number of states don also go as far as to largely eliminate restrictions on who fit carry gun.

For June 2021, for example, Texas Governor Greg Abbott bin sign into law one “permitless carry bill” wey allow residents to carry handguns without a licence or training.

Similarly, for April last year, Georgia become di 25th for di kontri to cancel di need for a permit to conceal or openly carry a firearm.

Di law mean say any citizen of dat state get di right to carry firearm without a licence or a permit.

Di NRA support di law , and leaders within di organisation call di move “a monumental moment for di Second Amendment”.