Number of firearm deaths in the U.S. 1990-2021

In 2021, there were 48,830 fatalities caused by injuries related to firearms in the United States, the highest number of gun deaths ever recorded in the country. However, this figure has remained relatively high over the past 25 years, with 37,155 firearm deaths in 1990, and a slight dip in fatalities between 1999 and 2002.

Firearms in the United States

The right to own firearms in the United States is enshrined in the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and while this right may be seen as quintessentially American, the relationship between Americans and their firearms has become fraught in the last few years. The proliferation of mass shootings in the U.S. has brought the topic of gun control into the national spotlight, with support for banning assault-style weapons a particularly divisive issue among Americans.

Gun control

With a little less than half of all Americans owning at least one firearm and the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world, it is easy to see how the idea of gun control is a political minefield in the U.S. However, public opinion has begun to shift over the past ten years, and a majority of Americans report that laws governing the sale of firearms should be stricter than they are now.