The Geography of Gun Deaths

Richard Florida's 2011 statistical analysis of which states have the most gun deaths seems particularly relevant (and sad) this week: The Geography of Gun Deaths - The Atlantic. In it you get careful correlation analysis of gun deaths by state versus poverty, immigration, gun laws, etc.

Also relevant for geographers is the situation in other wealthy countries, of course. Here's a sample of that data (click image for larger view).  Notice that we stand out, but are by no means the most prone to homicide. For the full article on this see: http://www.businessinsider.com/oecd-homicide-rates-chart-2015-6

Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from UNODC

On the other hand, when you look at just gun homicides, we really do get to see American exceptionalism at work:

This comes from the New York Times. Here's the full, brief, but fascinating article: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/upshot/compare-these-gun-death-rates-the-us-is-in-a-different-world.html

Finally, we really could learn something from the Australian experience: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/10/australia-gun-control/541710/

For those of you who don't know the basics, let me quickly summarize. In 1996, in Tasmania, Australians experienced their worst ever mass shooting. Within months their political leaders had passed new guns restrictions and started a mandatory buy back program for most guns. It was controversial at the time, but it worked. Australians are no longer likely to experience gun violence these days and the majority of Australians are now fully supportive of the laws. And, by the way, they are still live in a very free society. I would argue they are more free - free to not have to live in fear of summary, violent death by gun.