Not only that, 9 million carry loaded handguns at some point each month. And most of those say they do so for their own protection, according to a study published Oct. 19 in the American Journal of Public Health by researchers from the University of Washington, the University of Colorado, Harvard University and Northeastern University.
The research, "Loaded Handgun Carrying Among U.S. Adults, 2015", by Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health, et al., focuses on the frequency, manner and reasons gun owners carry loaded handguns.
A growing body of research examines the impact of gun deaths, statistics on mass shootings, violence on campus and more. Here are resources for further study:
Harvard Injury Control Research Center: This website by Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health summarizes academic research on gun-related homicide.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The CDC offers fact sheets on youth violence that give a glimpse of the scope of incidents on campus. Among those arrested for violent crimes in 2015, 10.2 percent were under age 18. Also see the School-Associated Violent Death Study.
Schools or organizations with public databases of mass shootings:
- The Los Angeles Times has a list of notable mass-shooting incidents,1984-2017. The list, which is not comprehensive, has pictures and a basic outline of each incident.
- Mother Jones database of mass shootings 1982-2017 tracks shootings where the perpetrator took the lives of at least four people. While the mass shooting in Las Vegas is the most notable incident, there has been another since then, at the Edgewood Business Park in Maryland on Oct. 18. On a separate page, the magazine offers context to help readers understand its investigation.
- USA Today's list is limited, spanning 2006-15, but includes an animated graphic.
- Stanford University Mass Shootings in America: The university has a database of shootings that it describes as "an ongoing project that involves the careful aggregation of data on a topic that receives numerous new records under the search term 'mass shooting' on a weekly basis." But the project's website makes clear that it is not a comprehensive, longitudinal research project. The effort began in 2012 after the mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Users who wish to access the data must fill out an online form.
Pew Research Center, Five facts about guns in the United States: A 2016 report by the center elaborates on public opinion about gun control.
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics: The bureau has a number of reports about firearms and crime statistics, including research on such topics as background checks and homicide trends.
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives: Firearms Commerce in the United States: The government’s statistics cover the manufacture and licensing of guns over the past three decades.
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Rebel flag may go, but guns stay
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