America’s gun culture – in seven charts

The Biden administration has moved to ban so-called “ghost guns”, the nearly untraceable weapons that are self-assembled and increasingly linked to violent crimes in the United States.

Here is a selection of charts and maps on where America stands on the right to bear arms.

There were 19,384 gun-related homicides in 2020, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly 53 people are killed each day by a firearm in the US, according to the data.

Killings involving a gun accounted for nearly 79% of all homicides in 2020, according to the CDC.

That’s a larger proportion of homicides than in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, and many other countries.

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.

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.

Figures from the CDC show there were a total of more than 45,000 gun deaths in 2020 – of which more than 24,200 were suicides.

Though mass shootings generally receive more media attention, the majority of gun-related deaths in the United States occur from suicide.

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.

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.

The Las Vegas attack in 2017 remains the worst mass shooting in recent US history – 56 people were killed and nearly 500 others were wounded.

The US does not have a single definition for “mass shootings” but the FBI has tracked “active shooter incidents” for more than a decade. Such an incident is defined as “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.

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”.

Support for stricter gun control is also hyper-partisan in the United States. According to the same Gallup survey, “Democrats are nearly unanimous in their support for stricture gun laws,” with nearly 91% saying the sale of firearms should be “made more strict.” But only 24% Republicans and 45% of Independents agreed with the same statement.

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.

Despite years of financial investigations 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.

This year, the US state of Georgia became the 25th in the nation to eliminate the need for a permit to conceal or openly carry a firearm.

The law was backed by the NRA, and leaders within the organisation called the move “a monumental moment for the Second Amendment”.

The law means any citizen of that state has the right to carry a firearm without a licence or a permit.

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.

In January 2021, the NRA filed for bankruptcy as part of a fraud case against some of its own senior staff.

The NRA said it would continue “confronting anti-Second Amendment activities, promoting firearm safety and training, and advancing public programs across the United States”.