Gun Control Research

Explanation of source links: Throughout the research below, you will find links of three types. The first and most frequent type is to primary sources such as governmental agencies. The second is to nonprofit groups that generally use government data or their own research to support their philanthropic mission. We have tried to use the least biased of these, or when in doubt, we have identified their bias. The third is to articles in periodicals or newspapers that we find to be of interest. These are not meant to be construed as original sources, and in some cases may not be accessible, depending on a reader's frequency of prior visits to the linked periodical or newspaper.

How many guns are believed to be in circulation in the US?

The total number of guns in the US is very hard to estimate because not all guns require registration and because of the large number of illegal guns in circulation.

The 2015 National Firearms Survey by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) indicated 265 million guns in circulation in the US. Within this total, an estimated 35% are rifles, 28% are shotguns, and 37% are handguns. The Small Arms Survey estimates the number at 393 million. Other estimates in a 2018 survey by the Wall Street Journal put the potential total as high as 400 million. This means that there is more than one gun for every man, woman, and child in the country. It also means that civilians own 70 times more guns than the military and US police combined.

Furthermore, some experts estimate that the real total exceeds these numbers materially. They point to the fact that every year the police recover about 84,000 illegal handguns. An expert with the Giffords Law Center reported that at any time, the actual number of illegal handguns in the US could be as high as 40 times this number. According to the Small Arms Survey, registration data account for only about 12% of the global total.

Who owns guns in the US?

Demographically, 36% of whites, 24% of blacks, and 15% of Hispanics report that they are gun owners. Men are three times as likely as women (37% vs. 12%) to own a gun; gun owners overall are disproportionately male, white, non-urban, and from the South.

How many and what kind of guns are acquired annually in the US?

Based on the latest data available, the ATF estimates that nearly 10 million guns of all kinds were produced and sold by US manufacturers in 2015. Of these, the ATF estimates that approximately 343,000 were exported. In addition, the ATF also estimates that approximately 5 million firearms were imported in 2016.

How does US gun ownership compare to other countries?

Based on the findings contained in the Small Arms Survey of 2018 on Global Firearms Holdings (consulted 7/12/19, Geneva, Small Arms Survey) civilian gun ownership in the US dramatically exceeds the rate of ownership in other countries as does the total number of guns.

How many deaths each year in the US ARE related to guns? Note: This data includes gun-related suicides.

What type of gun was involved in these deaths?

The most frequent kind of gun was the handgun, at 65%. The second largest category is “other,” which includes assault rifles and military-grade weapons, at 27%, followed by rifles at 6% and shotguns at 2%.

What else do we know about gun violence in the US?

Everytown For Gun Safety, a nonprofit dedicated to educating the public on gun violence, is the source of the following data as well as other relevant information:

In addition to the number of deaths each year, gun-related injuries, by intent, average 100,120 per year.

Gun homicides are concentrated in cities, with half of them occurring in 127 cities. Most occur in areas of high poverty.

Black Americans represent the majority of gun homicide victims.

Guns are the second leading cause of death for American children and the leading cause of death for black children and teens.

What do we know about mass shooting deaths?

The question of “mass shooting deaths” is challenged based on the fact that there is no generally agreed upon definition of “mass shooting.” The most common definition is an act in which a single gunman kills at least four victims, generally in a single place, and generally indiscriminately. Using this definition, there have been approximately 111 such mass shootings in the US since 1982. If you include domestic or family violence, as does Everytown for Gun Safety, the number is 173 mass shootings between January 2009 and July 2017. 57% of these were related to domestic or family violence.

For your review, we have listed below a few of the largest mass shootings in our recent history:

Are there any identifiable trends in mass shootings in the US?

Yes, the most significant of which is that they are increasing in rate. According to a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, there have been 14 such shootings since September 6, 2011, and, as indicated below, their frequency is increasing.

How does this compare to other developed countries?   

Acording to the The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the US leads the world in gun homicide rates:

Is there a correlation between gun ownership and gun deaths around the world?   

Based on both global and state by state data, there appears to be a strong strong correlation between gun ownership rates and the number of gun-related deaths. A unseful article on this relationship can be found at this link to The World Economic Forum. Due to copyright restrictions, we cannot reprint the charts here.

Current gun ownership legislation in the US:

Federal law requires an individual to be at least 21 years old to buy a handgun from a licensed dealer, but only 18 (in most places) to buy a long gun. In some states—mostly rural places with a strong tradition of hunting—you can buy a rifle at the age of 14 or 16. Most states consider assault rifles to fall under the category of long guns. Therefore, in most states, you only have to be 18 under current legislation to purchase an assault rifle.

Background check: Federal law requires licensed firearms dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers, but it does not require unlicensed sellers to do the same. Nine states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington) and DC require universal background checks at the point of sale for all sales and transfers of all classes of firearms, whether they are purchased from a licensed dealer or an unlicensed seller. 

Four states (Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey) require all firearm purchasers to obtain a permit, issued after a background check, in order to buy any firearm. 

Four more states (Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and North Carolina) have this permit and background check requirement for the purchase of handguns, but not long guns. 

Concealed carry: Most states allow people to carry a concealed handgun as long as they have obtained the proper permit. Some states allow people to open carry, meaning that they can have the gun visible on their person.

Licensing and registration: Only a handful of states require you to license or register a handgun. Some states even have laws on the books that prevent local governments from passing licensing and registration laws. This is generally true for rifles as well.

“Shoot first” laws: Twenty-seven states have enacted "shoot first" laws that allow a person to defend themselves in public using deadly force with no duty to retreat. Some of those states have slightly restrictive laws that only apply when a shooter is in a vehicle, and others have weak laws that are defined through a combination of case law, jury decisions, and statutes, and only provide shoot-first protections during criminal trials, among other circumstances.

Gun show and private seller loopholes: Federal law requires background checks for those purchasing guns from licensed dealers, but this leaves a loophole allowing private sellers to conduct a transaction without conducting a background check. Some states (12 of them, mostly along the East Coast) have additional laws that extend the background check requirement to private sellers or impose some other regulation on private sellers and/or gun shows.

What is the history of legislative efforts to regulate gun ownership?  

National Firearms Act (NFA) (1934): Part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR) “New Deal for Crime“ was meant to curtail “gangland crimes of that era.” The NFA imposed a tax on the manufacturing, selling, and transporting of firearms listed in the law, among them short-barrel shotguns and rifles, machine guns, firearm mufflers, and silencers. The law was only minimally effective in combating organized crime, but some scholars have cited it as a possible reason why automatic weapons, into the present day, are harder to obtain than handguns and rifles. FDR pushed through the NFA with minimal opposition. It was not until the 1960s that a Republican majority on the Supreme Court challenged the law. 

Gun Control Act (1968): Passed by a Democratic majority in Congress and signed by Lyndon B. Johnson. Overall the bill banned importing guns that have “no sporting purpose”; imposed age restrictions for the purchase of handguns (gun owners had to be 21); prohibited felons, the mentally ill, and others from purchasing guns; required that all manufactured or imported guns have a serial number; and imposed “stricter licensing and regulation on the firearms industry.”

Firearm Owners Protection Act (1986): The law mainly enacted protections for gun owners, prohibited a national registry of dealer records, limited ATF inspections to once per year (unless there were multiple infractions), softened what is defined as “engaging in the business” of selling firearms, and allowed licensed dealers to sell firearms at “gun shows” in their state. It also loosened regulations on the sale and transfer of ammunition. This law created a loophole that has been criticized by Democratic politicians for years. It is often cited as one of the reasons for the recent string of mass shootings.

Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act (1993): The law, which amends the GCA, requires that background checks be completed before a gun is purchased from a licensed dealer, manufacturer, or importer. It also established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is maintained by the FBI and still used today. This bill received bipartisan support.

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1994): Tucked into the sweeping and controversial Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (signed by President Clinton in 1994) was the subsection titled Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act. The provisions of the bill outlawed the ability to “manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon,” unless it was “lawfully possessed under Federal law on the date of the enactment of this subsection.” Nineteen military-style or “copycat” assault weapons—including AR-15s, TEC-9s, MAC-10s, etc.—could not be manufactured or sold. It also banned “certain high-capacity ammunition magazines of more than ten rounds.” The assault rifle ban expired in 2004. Attempts by both the Clinton administration and Democratic members of Congress to extend the provision were met with strong opposition by Republicans and the NRA.

Tiahrt Amendment (2003): Passed by a Republican Congress and signed by President George W. Bush, this law negated several earlier gun control laws. It prohibited the ATF from publicly releasing data showing where criminals purchased their firearms and stipulated that only law enforcement officers or prosecutors could access such information. The law effectively shielded retailers from lawsuits, academic study, and public scrutiny.

Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (2005): Prevented gun manufacturers from being named in federal or state civil suits by those who were victims of crimes involving guns made by that company.

What is the National Rifle Association (NRA) and what is their record of congressional support?

The NRA is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun rights. Founded in 1871, the group has informed its members about firearm-related legislation since 1934, and it has directly lobbied for and against firearms legislation since 1975. It is considered to be one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the US, based on the strength of nearly 5 million members and an annual budget believed to be around $250 million. Although, historically, the NRA contributed to both Republicans and Democrats, today they almost exclusively support Republicans. As of 2016, the major cumulative recipients of their support are listed below. The entire list is available at this link.

What was the original purpose of the Second Amendment? 

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

But, which people were our founding fathers referring to? During the Revolutionary War era, “militia” referred to groups of men who banded together to protect their communities, towns, colonies, and eventually states, once the United States declared its independence from Great Britain in 1776. In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, many prominent politicians of the time, including our founding fathers, worried that the central government would attempt to disarm state militias. These militias were viewed as an important defense against federal tyranny. The Constitution gave significantly more power to the federal government than it had exercised under the Articles of Confederation. The Second Amendment was part of a compromise to get the support of the anti-federalists.

In June 2008, a seminal Supreme Court case established the right for US citizens to possess firearms. In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court meticulously detailed the history and tradition of the Second Amendment, ultimately striking down the DC handgun ban in a five-to-four decision as a violation of US citizens’ Second Amendment right to bear arms. 

As we mentioned in the introduction, we do not believe that our founding fathers would have written the Second Amendment as they did were they writing it today. There have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, the most recent in 1992. If the Second Amendment is an obstacle to a civilized society, it should be amended.

How do US gun ownership laws compare to LAWS IN other countries that are free of gun violence?  

In addition to Japan and the UK, referenced above, Canada and Australia are examples of countries that have taken action to reduce gun ownership and gun-related violence.  

Canada: As of 1995, a license is required to buy a gun. If it’s a restricted gun, it must be registered and given special approval. Firearms in Canada are divided into three classes: “non-restricted weapons,” such as ordinary rifles and shotguns, “restricted,” such as handguns and semiautomatic rifles/shotguns, and “prohibited,” which includes automatic weapons. Canada requires a 28-day waiting period for purchases, mandatory safety training courses, more detailed background checks, bans on large-capacity magazines, and bans or greater restrictions on military-style firearms and ammunition.

Australia: The National Agreement on Firearms all but prohibited automatic and semiautomatic assault rifles, mandated licensing and registration, and instituted a temporary gun buyback program that took some 650,000 assault weapons (about one-sixth of the national stock) out of public circulation. Among other things, the law also required licensees to demonstrate a "genuine need" for a particular type of gun and to take a firearm safety course. This led to declining gun death rates and the complete absence of gun-related mass killings in Australia since 1996.

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