In the United States, gun violence is responsible for tens of thousands of fatalities and injuries each year, and in the year 2020, it was the greatest cause of mortality for children under the age of 19 in the United States. The National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that there were 38,390 deaths caused by firearms in 2018, which is the most recent year for which data are available as of the year 2021. Of these deaths, 24,432 were caused by suicide.

The number of deaths caused by firearms per 100,000 people increased from 10.3 per 100,000 in 1999 to 12 per 100,000 in 2017, with 109 persons dying every day or around 14,542 homicides in total in 2018. In 2018, the rate of deaths caused by firearms was 11.9 per 100,000. In the United States in the year 2010, there were a total of 19,392 suicides and 11,078 homicides that were caused by firearms.

In 2010, it was claimed that a rifle was used in 358 murders, while a pistol was used in 6,009 murders. An additional 1,939 murders were reported to have been committed with an undefined sort of firearm. A firearm was used in the commission of a total of 478,400 violent crimes in 2011, including both fatal and nonfatal offenses. [14] The primary federal firearm statutes, 18 USC 922 and 18 USC 924, govern crimes involving firearms and are codified in the United States Code.

Between 1968 and 2011, there were approximately 1.4 million deaths in the United States that were attributed to the use of firearms. This figure accounts for all deaths caused by firearms, including those that were self-inflicted, those that were intentional, and those that were accidental. The United States has a gun-related homicide rate that is 25 times greater than the rates in 22 other high-income countries. Even though it only has half the population of the other 22 countries combined, the United States accounts for 82 percent of all gun deaths, 90 percent of all women killed with guns, 91 percent of children under the age of 14, and 92 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24, with gun deaths being the leading cause of death for children.

This is despite the fact that the United States only has half the population of the other 22 countries combined. The right to own firearms and how they should be regulated are two of the most hotly contested topics in this country. The use of firearms results in a disproportionately high number of injuries and deaths among African American populations in the United States. Even though they receive a lot of attention from the media, mass shootings in the United States only account for a small portion of the total number of deaths that are caused by guns.

In spite of this, incidents of mass shootings take place on a far larger scale and much more frequently than they do in other wealthy countries. According to an article published by The Washington Post in 2018, school shootings are being referred to as a “uniquely American tragedy.” Active shooter drills are conducted with the students of American schools. “Approximately 95% of public schools now have children and instructors practice huddling in quiet, hiding from an imaginary gunman,” reported USA Today in 2019.