BY GEORGIA ANDREWS

GUN VIOLENCE
IN THE US

SERVING WITH FEAR FOR THE PAST THREE GENERATIONS.

 Introduction
When you take a look outside your first thought shouldn’t be “Will I make it today?”
No, your first thought should be “I’m ready for whatever may come today.” Yet that
statement is not the case. Many states in the United States, thousands of people are
afraid to go into public spaces due to a rise in gun violence since 2019. Within the
United States, there have been over 532 mass shootings from January to September
alone in 2023 (Gun Violence Archive, 2023). This information is unknown unless you
have looked really hard to find public sources that are reporting about gun violence
specifically. Politics have played a major role in this due to them not allowing news
journalists to report on this information. It is very hard to find information about
mass shootings unless you focus on more local sources. Even then sometimes those
local sources may not be very accurate. Local sources may also have very biased
opinions and information within their reports.

“Has gun violence been on a rise since lawmakers and

protesters started pushing for more control on
guns?” is a question one may wonder. From the
research, it seems as though there has been a rise
and been many sparks in the trends of gun violence
when it is brought up that there should be some type
of gun control within the United States. Being able to
see these small trends helps us understand that
when people who inflict gun violence are angry
enough, they will do whatever they can to cause
chaos and conflict.

Fig 1: 2024 statistics as of October

We, as people of the United States, need to
understand there is no good cause for any type of
gun violence. From suicides to school shootings,
gun violence has been raging on in the United
States since 1986, when these reporting could
finally be recognized. There needs to be a clear
understanding of what gun violence has done to
these past few years, 2019-2023, for everybody.
Minorities have been affected by this, children are
afraid to go to school, and much, much more.
This topic needs to be understood more and it
really shouldn’t be ignored. While some may
have not lost anybody to gun violence, there
have been plenty of those who were
threatened by people with guns because they
disagreed with someone on the topic of gun
control. There was no reason for those people
to even have to be threatened because one
was disagreed but from the research of gun
violence, this is a common theme for people
who inflict gun violence on the public.
 Findings
In 1996, 34,040 people died from gunfire in
the United States. Of these deaths,
approximately 54 percent resulted from
suicide, 41% resulted from homicide, and 3
percent were unintentional (Fig. 2). “Firearm
injuries are the eighth leading cause of death
in the United States.” (Goldberg, 1995) In
addition, for every fatal shooting, there are
roughly three nonfatal shootings.

T h e i m p a c t o f g u n v i o l e n c e i s e s p e c ia l l y
found among juveniles and adolescents. The
f i r e a r m h o m i c i d e r a t e f o r c h il d r e n u n d e r 1 5
y e a r s o f a g e i s 1 6 t i m e s h i g h e r in t h e U n it e d
S t a t e s t h a n i n 2 5 o t h e r i n d u s t r ia l iz e d
countries combined. Among those ages 15 to
2 4 , t h e U . S . f i r e a r m h o m i c i d e r a t e is 5 t im e s
h i g h e r t h a n i n C a n a d a a n d 3 0 t im e s h ig h e r
t h a n i n J a p a n , w h e r e a s o m e o f t h e m in o r s
there get into some type of trouble, and the
f i r e a r m h o m i c i d e r a t e f o r t h e 1 5 - t o 2 4 -y e a r -
o l d a g e g r o u p i n c r e a s e d 1 5 8 p e r c e n t d u r in g
the 10-year period from 1984 to 1993 alone. F i g 2 : S e c t i o n I : G u n V i o l e n c e i n th e
United States

F i g 3 s h o w s t h a t i n 2 0 2 1 , 4 8 , 8 3 0 p e o p l e d ie d
f r o m g u n - r e l a t e d i n j u r i e s i n t h e U . S . , a c c o r d in g
to the CDC. That includes gun murders and gun
suicides, along with three less common types
of gun-related deaths tracked by the CDC:
accidental, those that involved law
e n f o r c e m e n t , a n d t h e o n e s t h a t h a v e c e r t a in
c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h a t c o u l d n o t b e d e t e r m in e d .
T h e t o t a l e x c l u d e s d e a t h s i n w h ic h g u n s h o t
injuries played a contributing, but not
principal, role.
F i g 3 : P E W R e s e a r c h o n g u n s u ic id e
and gun murder on the rise (2021)
 2023 has already been a warzone for gun
violence (Fig 4). Six months into 2023, more
than 21,000 people have died because of
g u n - r e l a t e d i n j u r i e s i n t h e U n it e d S t a t e s .
Adams, D. (2023, June 29) Gun deaths
increased by 23 percent, from 2019, before
the coronavirus pandemic, to 2021,
according to the Pew Research Center.

Fig 4: Gun shots in glass window

Gun violence appeared to slightly ebb last

y e a r a s t h e C O V I D - 1 9 p a n d e m ic s u b s id e d .
T h e f i n a l n u m b e r o f g u n - r e l a t e d d e a t h s in
2 0 2 2 i s s t i l l b e i n g t a l l i e d a s p l a c e s l ik e
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention pull together numbers on
suicides. There were an estimated 20,138
f i r e a r m d e a t h s , e x c l u d i n g s u i c id e s . F ig 5
s h o w s t h a t t h e n u m b e r o f g u n d e a t h s in
2021, totaled to about 48,830, was the F i g 5 : 7 y e a r r e v i e w o f g u n v i o l e n c e in t h e U S
largest on record.
Some may think that gun violence relates to seeing
it in adolescence. The relation for youth ages 15 to
24 (Fig 6A) was primarily negative over the time
period, that being said there was a rise in 2015 for
gun violence. This is indicating that despite the rise
in gun violence in TV dramas, the rate of gun
homicides in this young age group was opposite to
the TV trend

Fig 6A: Curve for relation of gun

violence 15-24

An argument can be made for both sides with

Fig 6B showing that there was a curve for
ages 25-34 which is very identical to that of
Fig 6A. Most of the older people in this age
group would have seen less violent cartoons Fig 6B: Curve for relation of gun
and movies just like the very younger people violence 25-34
in the first group.
 W i t h i n t h e f i r s t y e a r o f t h e C O V ID -1 9
p a n d e m i c , g u n v i o l e n c e ( G V ) r a t e s in t h e
United States (US) rose by 30%. There was an
e s t i m a t e o f t h e r e l a t i v e r i s k o f G V in t h e U S
in the second year, 2022, compared to the
f i r s t y e a r , 2 0 2 1 , o f t h e p a n d e m ic .
G V r i s k i n t h e U S i s h e t e r o g e n e o u s . It
c o n t i n u e s t o b e a p u b l i c h e a l t h c r is is , w it h
1 8 % o f t h e s t a t e s d e m o n s t r a t in g
s i g n i f i c a n t l y h i g h e r G V r a t e s d u r in g t h e
s e c o n d y e a r o f t h e C O V I D - 1 9 p a n d e m ic
c o m p a r e d t o t h e s a m e t i m e f r a m e 1 y e a r p r io r
Fig 7: Heat graph of intense gun violence 2021-2022

S p a t i a l r e l a t i v e r i s k o f g u n v io l e n c e d u r in g t h e s e c o n d y e a r o f t h e p a n d e m ic v s . t h e f irs t
y e a r . ( F i g 7 ) s h o w s t h e r i s k d i f f e r e n c e w h ic h w a s e s t im a t e d b y c o m p a rin g t h e s m o o t h e d
i n t e n s i t y o f g u n v i o l e n c e e v e n t s d u r in g t h e s e c o n d y e a r o f t h e p a n d e m ic (M a rc h 0 1,
2 0 2 1 , t h r o u g h F e b r u a r y 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 ) v e r s u s b e f o r e t h e f ir s t y e a r o f t h e p a n d e m ic (M a rc h 1,
2 0 2 0 , t h r o u g h F e b r u a r y 2 8 , 2 0 2 1 ) a c r o s s a l l 5 0 s t a t e s a n d t h e Dis t ric t o f Co lu m b ia . W it h
t h e r e b e i n g 0 i n c l u d e d i n t h e p o s s ib l e a m o u n t , t h is c o u l d m e a n t h a t t h e re w a s n o
c h a n g e a n d t h a t g u n v i o l e n c e w a s t h e s a m e a s t h e y e a r s b e f o re .

T h e n u m b e r o f g u n d e a t h s e x c l u d in g
suicides in 2022 declined slightly
compared to 2021, a year that saw the
m o s t g u n d e a t h s o n r e c o r d . T h is t o t a l ,
t r a c k e d b y t h e n o n p r o f i t G u n V io l e n c e
Archive since 2014, includes murders,
a c c i d e n t a l s h o o t i n g s , a n d o t h e r h o m ic id e s
that law enforcement deemed legally
justified.

Preliminary data from the Centers for

Disease Control also showed more than
4 8 , 0 0 0 f i r e a r m h o m i c i d e s a n d s u ic id e s in
F i g 8 : T h e r a t e o f g u n d e a t h s in t h e U n it e d
2 0 2 1 f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e . T h e a g e -a d j u s t e d
States for the past 9 years
gun death rate of 14.8 per 100,000 people
w a s t h e h i g h e s t s i n c e 1 9 9 3 , a h ig h -w a t e r
mark for American gun violence.
 Analysis
G u n v i o l e n c e h e r e w i t h i n t h e U n it e d s t a t e s h a s c a u s e d t h e CDC (Ce n t e rs
f o r D i s e a s e C o n t r o l a n d P r e v e n t io n ) t o d is c u s s t h e s it u a t io n a s a n
e p i d e m i c d u e t o t h e a m o u n t o f g u n v io l e n c e d e a t h s t h e r e a re e a c h y e a r.
E a c h r e p o r t i n g a n d e a c h s o u r c e h a s s t a t e d t h a t g u n v io l e n c e h a s g o t t e n
o u t o f c o n t r o l , e s p e c i a l l y d u r in g t h e C O V ID -1 9 p a n d e m ic . O v e r 4 0 , 0 0 0
d e a t h s h a v e o c c u r r e d t h i s y e a r , 2 0 2 3 , a n d t h e n u m b e r s a r e s t ill ris in g .

M a n y o f t h e s o u r c e s h a v e w a r n e d t h a t w it h t h e r is e in g u n v io le n c e , w e
m a y n e v e r s e e a n e n d t o t h i s s it u a t io n . M o r e a n d m o r e p e o p le w ill
c o n t i n u e t o k i l l p e o p l e a n d o t h e r s w il l c o n t in u e t o c h o o s e s u ic id e o v e r
l i v i n g . P e w R e s e a r c h C e n t e r a l s o n o t e s t h a t o u r e c o n o m y , in t h e Un it e d
S t a t e s , c a n n o t s u r v i v e i f t h i s c o n t in u e s h a p p e n in g . “ G u n d e a t h s
i n c r e a s e d b y 2 3 p e r c e n t , f r o m 2 0 1 9 , b e f o r e t h e C O V ID -1 9 p a n d e m ic , t o
2 0 2 1 , ” a c c o r d i n g t o P e w R e s e a r c h C e n t e r . T h e n u m b e r o f g u n d e a t h s in
2021, 48,830, was the largest on record.

T h e r e s u l t s f r o m e a c h s o u r c e h a v e n o t ic e d a c o r r e l a t io n w it h g u n
v i o l e n c e . T h e i n c r e a s e i n u s e o f f ir e a r m s m a y b e t h e r e s u l t o f t h e
i n c r e a s i n g a c q u i s i t i o n o f g u n s t h a t h a s o c c u r r e d o v e r t h e p e rio d . Th e
m o r e g u n s i n c i r c u l a t i o n , t h e g r e a t e r t h e c h a n c e s o f t h e ir u s e f o r v io le n t
p u r p o s e s , w h i c h h e l p s t o e x p l a in t h e ir g r e a t e r u s e f o r v io l e n c e in t h e US .

Conclusion
T h i s s i t u a t i o n i s n o t i d e a l a n d n e e d s t o b e f ix e d s o t h a t in t h e n e a r f u t u re w e c a n h a v e le s s
k i l l s a y e a r . T h e s e k i l l i n g s a l s o m u s t o n l y b e a c c id e n t a l a n d if w e c a n n o t g e t t o t h is p o in t
t h e n w e m a y h a v e s o m e s e r i o u s p r o b l e m s t h a t n e e d t o b e f ixe d . I f w e s t a rt t o p la c e a
h a r s h e r g u n c o n t r o l l i n g l a w o n t h e p u b l ic t h e n m a n y o f t h e s e m a s s s h o o t in g s w ill n o t
h a p p e n . W e c a n t a k e a l o o k a t p l a c e s l ik e A u s t r a l ia a n d C a n a d a , w h ic h b o t h h a v e la rg e
c o n t r o l s o v e r t h e i r g u n s . E a c h o f t h o s e c o u n t r ie s h a s a m u c h lo w e r p e rc e n t a g e o f g u n
k i l l i n g s p e r 1 m i l l i o n p e o p l e , 1 . 4 & 5 . 1 r e s p e c t iv e l y , c o m p a re d t o A m e ric a ’s 2 9. 7 p e r 1
m i l l i o n p e o p l e . T h a t ’ s a b o u t 1 1 . 5 m il l io n k il l in g s in t h e U n it e d S t a t e s a lo n e . Th is n e e d s t o
c h a n g e a n d w i t h y o u r u n d e r s t a n d in g , it c a n .
 Sources
Fig 1: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
Fig 2: https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh176/files/pubs/gun_violence/sect01.html

Fig 3: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-
about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/

Fig 4: https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1184731316/gun-violence-epidemic-suicide-

mass-shooting-public-health-emergency-chicago

Fig 5: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

Fig 6A: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247780

Fig 6B: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247780

Fig 7: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.950475/full
Fig 8: https://www.thetrace.org/2022/12/gun-violence-deaths-statistics-america/

Photo 1: https://www.pewpewtactical.com/california-roster-handguns/

Photo 2: https://nytimes.com/2015/12/04/us/weapons-in-san-bernardino-shootings-

were-legally-obtained.html

Photo 3: https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/does-barrel-length-matter-for-

a-home-defense-shotgun/
Photo 4: https://gunsmagazine.com/guns/shotguns/short-barreled-shotguns/

Photo 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifle

Photo 6: https://www.google.com/searchq=handguns&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwih7

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sQMyBwg AEIoFEEMyBQgAEIAEMgcIABCKBRBDMgcIABCKBRBDMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgA

QyBQgAEIAEOgoIABCKBRCxAxBDOgYIABAHEB5QngZYlQlg8AtoAHAAeACAATyIAZkCkgEBNZg
BAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=6TcqZeHVG4T4kPIPv5CW2AQ&bih=9
23&biw=1920&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1015US1015

Goldberg: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7636456/