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10 Shocking Stats about America’s Gun Violence

10 Shocking Stats about America’s Gun Violence

Yesterday’s tragic shooting at a movie theater in Louisiana—which ended with two people killed and several injured when a gunman opened fire—was just the most recent in a seeming spike of gun violence. Last week, we saw a fatal shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee. And, of course, a gunman visited a massacre on a Charleston, South Carolina, church last month.

The truth is, the statistics about gun violence in the United States are staggering. And it’s time we all start taking note.

Since 2011, there has been a public mass shooting, on average, every 64 days (counting only shootings where four or more victims were killed).

Between direct medical costs, lost quality of life and lost wages and productivity, Gun violence costs the American economy $229 billion each year—that’s $700 per American.

At least 750,000 Americans were injured by a gun in the last 10 years. 320,000 were killed.

Gun Control is getting less popular. A 2013 Gallup poll found 37 percent of Americans thought gun laws were fine as-is, and 49 percent thought they needed to be more strict. As a comparison, in 1990, 17 percent thought gun laws were fine as-is, and 78 percent thought they needed to be more strict.

There are 5.5 million firearms made in the U.S. every year.

In 2014, 31 percent of American households (and 38 percent in the South) reported having a gun.

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