The Numbers Don’t Lie: Paranoia Drives Opposition to Gun Control
Abstract
Anthropology now 2022, Vol. 14, no . 1-2, 127–132 https://doi.org/10.1080/19428200.2022.2119774 Uncommon SenSe The Numbers Don’t Lie: Paranoia Drives Opposition to Gun Control G. A. clark numbers don’t lie. People do. This thought came to mind while contemplating the latest school massacre in Uvalde, Texas. So let’s take a look at some num- bers related to gun ownership, mass shootings and deaths in the United States and compare them with those in the rest of the world. The United States is the leading global manufacturer of firearms. Domestic gun makers produced 11.3 million in 2020, roughly triple the number made in 2000. In the past 20 years, during which the U.S. population increased by 18%, the number of firearms manufactured jumped by 250%. Per Capita Gun Ownership There are about 410 million guns in the United States today — more, in fact, than the population of the country (c. 330 million), or about 121 guns per 100 people, up from 88 per 100 in 2011. The per capita number of guns is growing at a rate exceeding that of the population, with a sharp upswing during the Trump administration. With only 5% of the world’s people, the nation owns 46%