2015: The Year in Guns
By the numbers.
13,013
Number of people killed by guns so far in 2015. Number of those who were children aged 0-11: 673. Number aged 12-17: 2,609. (Gun Violence Archive)
1.49
Percentage of gun deaths that are from mass shootings. (Vox.com)
965
Number of people shot dead by police this year. Of those, 719 were killed after committing violent crimes. 36 were black and unarmed. (Washington Post)
7
Number of times more likely a black man is to be shot by police than a white man. One in 3 of the more than 100 people shot and killed by police officers after traffic violations this year was black. (Washington Post)
3
Number of police officers who have been charged in the shooting deaths of unarmed black men. All three were caught on video. (Washington Post)
2.2 million
Number of firearm background checks initiated through the NCIS last month—a 24 percent increase over last year. A record 185,345 background checks were processed on Black Friday. This year, a total of 19.8 million background checks were processed through November. (FBI)
8
Percent of gun owners who own 10 or more guns. Twenty-five percent own five or more guns. (The Trace)
3
Number of times more likely law enforcement officers are to be killed in states with high firearm ownership compared to states with low firearm ownership. (American Journal of Public Health)
60
Percentage of people who die from guns in the U.S. who die by suicide. According to the CDC, suicide is the second-most common cause of death for Americans aged 15-34. (NYT)
40
Percentage of Americans who know someone who was fatally shot or who committed suicide by gun. (Huffington Post)
$229 billion
Estimated annual cost of gun violence to the American economy. (Mother Jones)
36
Number of politicians who tweeted their “thoughts and prayers” after the shooting in San Bernardino, as responded to by Think Progress contributing editor Igor Volsky.
$2.3 million
Amount given to those politicians by the NRA, who also gave all 36 an “A” rating. (Forbes/NRA)
$1 million
Projected cost at auction of a pair of pistols forged from a 4.5 billion year old meteorite by the gun manufacturer Cabot Guns. (CNN Money)
11
Great New Handguns for 2015. (Guns and Ammo)
Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.