Chart of day: The link between gun ownership and gun deaths

Another high school shooting has focussed attention once again on guns in the United States. The death of at least 17 people in Florida has re-ignited discussions about gun ownership and control.

Some 40% of Americans say they live in a household with a gun, while 30% say they themselves own a gun, according to a Pew Research Center survey from last year.

Higher levels of gun ownership are linked to higher gun-related deaths, as this chart from Mother Jones, an investigative reporting magazine, shows. It’s worth noting, though, that the data is from 2013, so the precise picture is likely to have changed.

Alaska stands out at the top of the chart, while Rhode Island, New Jersey and Massachusetts are notable for their low ownership and low number of deaths.

More than 30,000 people are killed by firearms in the US each year. The vast majority are suicides. Data suggests this number is on the rise: 38,000 people were killed by firearms in 2016, up from an average of 33,000 from 2012-2014.