In many cases on this blog, I’ve gone back through the years to post details of mass shootings in schools, places of worship, and other public locations in the U.S. I’ve tried to provide names of those involved (excluding the perpetrators), because I think it’s important that we recognize and remember those whose lives were cut short by gun violence in mass events.
It’s not only daunting to do the research, it takes an emotional toll on me. I greatly admire tireless gun reform advocates like Gabby Giffords, concerned citizens, parents, and former students who constantly push for awareness and real efforts to address this problem.
Here’s a look back at statistics from 2023 with only the barest of details and limited to schools and places of worship.
I got that information from a Wikipedia site that includes a much longer and more detailed chart you can review on that page, which details mass shootings at places along with schools and churches, including residences, public areas, and businesses. A total of 754 people were killed and 2,443 other people were injured in 604 shootings.
It’s overwhelming.
To pretend we don’t have an epidemic of gun violence in this country is the worst kind of hubris.
I read somewhere that 3.3% of UK citizens have a firearms licence. I have no idea how accurate that figure is, but I am guessing it’s a lot higher in the US?
I found this bit of information: As of 2024, an estimated 82,880,000 people in the United States own a firearm, which is about 6.7% more than in 2017. This is about 42% of US households, which is a relatively steady number that’s been between 37% and 47% since 1972.
However, you speak of firearms licenses, and that’s a very different story here, to wit: Based on NICS background data and manufacturing records, it is estimated that there are 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the U.S. Only 6.06 million firearms are registered in America (NFA registrations and states with permits to purchase). Estimates show that 82,880,000 people own at least one firearm in 2023.
Gun owners resist registering or permitting weapons because they say it imposes on their rights (sensible gun reform does not aim to violate rights). They also insist it’s a way for the government to find and confiscate privately-owned arms and leave citizens helpless. The irony is that the people unreasonable gun owners vote FOR, who seek an authoritarian government, would be the first to take their guns, not the people they accuse. Disinformation is nothing new, and now it’s even more insidious.
Sadly, I think it is impossible to unravel twisted thinking. An eye for an eye and the whole world would be blind, as they say.
It’s daunting.