Among developed nations, the United States (US) has by far the highest rate of homicide. But this is not due to higher rates of violent crime, as the US in fact has fairly average rates of violence. The high homicide rate is because an assault in the US is much likelier to involve a gun, and is therefore much likelier to be lethal. And this in turn is a direct result of the very high gun availability in the US, as studies have indeed shown a definitive link between gun ownership rates and homicide rates.

However, there is good news: overall homicide rates in the US have been steadily declining since the early 1990s. But certain groups remain disproportionately affected by homicide including gun homicide. In 2015 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide was the 20th leading cause of death for Whites, but the 8th leading cause of death for Blacks, and the 12th leading cause of death for Hispanics.

Guns do not protect people from violence and homicide. Rather, they tend to make getting shot more likely. One important study showed that a gun in the home is 22 times more likely to shoot someone living in the home than an intruder. Another study showed that an assault victim is 5 times more likely to be shot during the crime if they are carrying a gun.

And this doesn’t even get into the suicide-related risks of easy gun access (see previous page on suicide).