The horrific shootings this month — the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the shooting event in Buffalo, New York, targeting Black Americans — have once again shone a spotlight on how frequent this type of violence is in the United States compared with other wealthy countries.
The U.S. has the 32nd-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world: 3.96 deaths per 100,000 people in 2019. That was more than eight times as high as the rate in Canada, which had 0.47 deaths per 100,000 people — and nearly 100 times higher than in the United Kingdom, which had 0.04 deaths per 100,000.
REPUBLICAN TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT:
“Texans are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime & for the community of Uvalde.
“Cecilia & I mourn this horrific loss & urge all Texans to come together.”
SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL:
“Horrified and heartbroken by reports of the disgusting violence directed at innocent schoolkids in Uvalde, Texas. The entire country is praying for the children, families, teachers, and staff and the first responders on the scene.”
On a state-by-state calculation, the rates can be even higher. In the District of Columbia, the rate is 18.5 per 100,000 — the highest in the United States. The second-highest is in Louisiana: 9.34 per 100,000. In Georgia and Colorado — the scenes of the two most recent mass shootings — the rates are a bit closer to the national average: 5.62 per 100,000 in Georgia and 2.27 in Colorado.
The numbers come from a massive database maintained by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which tracks lives lost in every country, in every year, by every possible cause of death.
UTAH REPUBLICAN SENATOR MITT ROMNEY:
“Grief overwhelms the soul. Children slaughtered. Lives extinguished. Parents’ hearts wrenched. Incomprehensible. I offer prayer and condolence but know that it is grossly inadequate. We must find answers.”
WEST VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC SENATOR JOE MANCHIN:
“That makes no sense at all, why we can’t do common-sense, common-sense things and try to prevent some of this from happening.”
The majority of Americans support stronger gun laws — laws that would reduce deaths. But during the first half of 2019 alone, the NRA spent $1.6 million lobbying Congress against passing gun safety legislation. Even after a summer filled with back-to-back mass shootings, these senators refuse to support common-sense gun reform, like expanding background checks or banning assault weapons.
Our chart lists the 50 senators who have taken the most money from the NRA, along with the average number of gun deaths per year in their state. Mitch McConnell comes in at #18, having received more than $1.2 million in campaign contributions over his career. Tweet a senator to let them know that if they don’t start representing voters instead of the gun lobby, then we will vote them out. — The Brady Campaign
The horrific shootings this month — the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the racist shooting event in Buffalo, New York, targeting Black Americans — have once again shone a spotlight on how frequent this type of violence is in the United States compared with other wealthy countries.
The U.S. has the 32nd-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world: 3.96 deaths per 100,000 people in 2019. That was more than eight times as high as the rate in Canada, which had 0.47 deaths per 100,000 people — and nearly 100 times higher than in the United Kingdom, which had 0.04 deaths per 100,000.
On a state-by-state calculation, the rates can be even higher. In the District of Columbia, the rate is 18.5 per 100,000 — the highest in the United States. The second-highest is in Louisiana: 9.34 per 100,000. In Georgia and Colorado — the scenes of the two most recent mass shootings — the rates are a bit closer to the national average: 5.62 per 100,000 in Georgia and 2.27 in Colorado.
The numbers come from a massive database maintained by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which tracks lives lost in every country, in every year, by every possible cause of death.
TEXAS REPUBLICAN SENATOR TED CRUZ:
“Heidi & I are fervently lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde. We are in close contact with local officials, but the precise details are still unfolding. Thank you to heroic law enforcement & first responders for acting so swiftly.”
TEXAS REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN CORNYN:
“I’m grateful to law enforcement and everyone who worked to stop the shooter, as well as the medical staff working now to prevent further loss of life. I join my fellow Texans in lifting up the entire Uvalde community during this unimaginable tragedy.”
TEXAS REPUBLICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON:
“I ask you all of you to join me in praying for our fellow Texans impacted by the horrific shooting in Uvalde today. Lord, our refuge and strength, we pray for the souls of those lost, those who were wounded, their families, and our brave first responders.”
“It takes a monster to kill children. But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity—it’s inhumanity,”
“The truth is, one nation under guns.
“What might we be if only we tried. What might we become if only we’d listen.”——–Amanda Gorman, Poet
Source: NPR and Reuters and The Guardian and The Brady Campaign for list of Senators receiving the most money from the NRA
