Report Highlights:

• The U.S. has more than 82 million lawful firearm owners.
• 53% of the 21 states with restrictive concealed carry laws have violent crime rates higher than the national average.
• 55% of states with a violent crime rate below the national average have permitless carry.
• Between 60,000 and 2.5 million Americans use firearms for self-defense each year.
• 40% of criminals convicted of crimes while in possession of a firearm were already prohibited from carrying firearms.
• A 2018 study shows that 68% of those convicted of crimes while in possession of a firearm were already felons.
• The U.K. and Australia have a higher number of homicides per firearm than the United States.



If guns were more regulated, would crime rates go up, down, or stagnate? We can review several years' worth of gun violence statistics, ownership, and crime trends between states and countries to better understand the impacts of guns on crime.

Gun Violence and Legal Gun Owner Statistics

• There are more than 82,000,000 legal gun owners in America.
• In 2022, Wyoming had the least firearm-related homicides (17) and more firearms per person than any other state.
• It is currently estimated that more than 2.5 million Americans use firearms for self-defense each year.
• States with the highest number of crime guns recovered have varying rates of ownership, meaning that lawful firearm ownership has no correlation to firearm-related crimes.
• The number of American citizens who support strict gun control has declined since 1992 (56% in 2023 versus 78% in 1990).
• Of the 28 states with permitless carry, only 10 have violent crimes above the national average.

Lawful Gun Ownership and Crime

States with the highest rates of gun ownership have the fewest gun crimes per the ATF eTrace. However, states with large population sizes have higher rates of guns used in crimes (recovered).



The five states with the highest number of recovered guns have varying rates of lawful gun ownership.

Unlawful Possession and Gun Violence

Gun violence statistics vary by state due to different state laws. In the 13 least restrictive gun states (2008), ⅔ of criminals convicted of a crime where a firearm was involved weren't stopped by existing laws and wouldn't have been stopped by stricter legislation.

31% would not have been prohibited from firearm possession if gun laws were stricter
40% were already prohibited
28.9% would have been prohibited if gun laws were stricter
Note: These calculations do not include the age of the offender at the time of arrest, and therefore, the number of prohibited persons may be higher.

A 2018 study performed on inmates in Illinois shows that 74% of re-offenders were convicted of a second firearm-related crime within 10 years.

• 68% of felons used illegal guns
• 67% of murderers had a prior arrest record
• 21% of murderers had multiple prior arrests
• 2.3% of 7,632,470 arrests in 2020 involved weapons

Gun Violence Rates by Country

Many gun control proponents state that other countries do not have as many homicides as the United States. However, we can see that gun ownership does not correlate with homicide rates.



Continue reading Gun Violence Statistics 2024: A Comprehensive Look at the Data on Ammo.com