Related Guides
United States
- NACJD: Guns & Other Weapons (ICPSR) The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) archives and disseminates data on crime and justice for secondary analysis. The archive contains data from over 2,700 curated studies or statistical data series. NACJD is home to several large-scale and well known datasets, including the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), and the Project on Human Development in Chicago
- FACTS: Firearm Safety Among Children & Teens Consortium (ICPSR) FACTS is an interdisciplinary group of more than 30 researchers, practitioners, and firearm owners across the U.S. who are dedicated to reducing child firearm injuries and deaths, while respecting gun ownership as an important part of the cultural fabric of the U.S. The FACTS consortium was funded as part of a 2017 NICHD effort to increase research on child injury prevention. The consortium seeks to engage multidisciplinary research experts across the U.S. to catalyze the science of child
- Background Checks for Firearm Transfers (BJS) This report details the number of applications for background checks for firearm transfers and permits received by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and state and local checking agencies. It reports the number of denials issued by these agencies and the reasons for denial. It also describes the types of permits or checks used by each state.
- Annual Gun Law Scoreboard (Giffords Law Center) Each year, our attorneys track and analyze gun legislation in all 50 states, assigning laws and policies point values. States are ranked and given letter grades, which are then compared to the most recent gun death rates released by the CDC. For over a decade now, the data has shown that commonsense gun laws prevent gun violence—but only in the states with the courage to enact them.
- Gun Rights vs Gun Control (OpenSecrets) See spending on lobbying and contributions from gun control and gun rights groups to members of Congress, as well as current NRA data. Export to csv.
- General Social Survey, Includes annual estimate of the prevalence of household firearm ownership in the U.S.
- Gun Dealer Inspection Reports (The Trace) This interactive database consists of detailed inspection reports of gun industry businesses that were inspected by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives between 2015 and 2017. It includes only businesses that were cited for violations.
- Northern Illinois Federal Gun Cases (ProPublica) This data set includes information about federal gun cases under statutes dealing with unlicensed firearm dealing (18:922A.F), unlawful sale of a firearm (18:922C.F), unlawful shipping of a firearm (18:922E.F), possession of a firearm by a felon (18:922G.F), making a false statement in a gun purchase (18:924A.F), and use of a gun in drug trafficking (18:924C.F) in the Illinois Northern District from January 1, 2007 to October 4, 2017.
- Firearms Data & Statistics (ATF) Available from no other source, this comprehensive collection of ATF-related data from national surveys, state-based surveys, other collected license statistics, and other data sources documents trends in firearms, commerce and use of federal services in the United States.
- TRAC ATF The information about the ATF, its staffing and criminal enforcement efforts, was compiled by TRAC from a variety of sources. The sources included computerized data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the Justice Department and from the United States Office of Personnel Management. These data were supplemented by interviews with current and former government officials, attorneys, and agency data processing specialists.
Firearm Injuries
- HCUPnet: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project HCUPnet is a free, on-line query system based on data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). The system provides health care statistics and information for hospital inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory settings, as well as population-based health care data on counties. Find data on gun-related injuries here.
- Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (CDC) "CDC’s WISQARS™ (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) is an interactive, online database that provides fatal and nonfatal injury, violent death, and cost of injury data from a variety of trusted sources. Researchers, the media, public health professionals, and the public can use WISQARS™ data to learn more about the public health and economic burden associated with unintentional and violence-related injury in the United States."
- Firearm Injury Hospitalizations in the United States by State (RAND) As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, RAND researchers developed a longitudinal database of state-level estimates of inpatient hospitalizations for firearm injury between 2000 and 2016. This database was first released in 2021 and is free to the public.
Gun Violence
- Gun Violence Statistics (Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence) Gun violence exacts an enormous toll on Americans—claiming tens of thousands of lives each year. Weak gun laws and unfettered access to firearms have made it far too easy for people to take their own lives and the lives of others. Gun violence shapes the fabric of our society, traumatizing millions and imposing substantial financial burdens that we all share. The below statistics lay out the devastating scope of this uniquely American crisis.
- Gun Violence in America (Everytown for Gun Safety) n order to illustrate the magnitude of everyday gun violence, Everytown has gathered the most comprehensive, publicly available data. Still, significant data gaps remain—a result of underfunded, incomplete data collection at the state and federal level. Filling these gaps is necessary to truly understand the full impact of gun violence in the United States.
- Gun Violence in the United States (Rockefeller Institute of Government) 1999-2020 data on gun death rates per 100,000; total gun death;, gun homicide and suicide rates per 100,000; firearm injury hospitalizations per 100,000; and gun homicides and suicides.
- Gun Violence Archive Gun Violence Archive (GVA) is a not for profit corporation formed in 2013 to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States. GVA will collect and check for accuracy, comprehensive information about gun-related violence in the U.S. and then post and disseminate it online.
- Gun Violence Key Statistics (Brady) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides annual statistics on fatal firearm injuries. Using data from the most recent years available (2015-2019), Brady establishes five-year averages of firearm fatalities. While Brady historically used CDC data to establish averages for gun-related injuries as well, recent findings show there are more accurate sources. Due to funding restrictions and other constraints, the sample size utilized by the CDC is so small that its estimate of firearm injuries
- Gun Deaths in the U.S. (Pew Research Center) The recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio – along with a spate of shootings in Chicago – have brought renewed attention to deadly gun violence in the United States. As President Donald Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill contemplate policy responses, here are 10 common questions about gun deaths in the U.S., with answers based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the FBI and other sources
Mass Shootings
- Washington Post School Shootings Database The Washington Post spent a year determining how many children have been affected by school shootings, beyond just those killed or injured. To do that, reporters attempted to identify every act of gunfire at a primary or secondary school during school hours since the Columbine High massacre on April 20, 1999. Using Nexis, news articles, open-source databases, law enforcement reports, information from school websites, and calls to schools and police departments, The Post reviewed more than 1,000
- K-12 School Shooting Database (Center for Homeland Defense and Security) The K-12 School Shooting Database documents when a gun is brandished, is fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time of day, or day of week.
- School Shooting Tracker (Education Week) School Shootings Over Time: Incidents, Injuries, and Deaths, by year since 2018
- CNN School Shooting Dataset 2009-2018 CNN reviewed hundreds of reported shootings at K-12 schools from 2009 until 2018. To compile our dataset, we primarily relied on open-source databases, news reports, calls to police departments, information on school websites and 2009-2013 data provided by the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO).
- U.S. Mass Shootings Data Set, Mother Jones This dataset originally covered 1982-2012 and has since been expanded through 2017.
- A Guide to Mass Shootings in America, Mother Jones n July 2012, in the aftermath of the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado, Mother Jones created the first open-source database documenting mass shootings in the United States. Our research has focused on indiscriminate rampages in public places resulting in four or more victims killed by the attacker. We exclude shootings stemming from more conventional crimes such as armed robbery or gang violence.
- The Violence Project Mass Shooter Database The Violence Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center dedicated to reducing violence in society and using data and analysis to improve policy and practice. Our research on mass shootings, funded by the National Institute of Justice, has received global media attention
- ALERRT Active Attack Data (Texas State University) This website is part of an ongoing project of the ALERRT Research Team that provides up-to-date active attack data regarding events, shooters, weaponry, and resolution of active shooter events. ALERRT has undergone a change in philosophical approach to the events that we prepare to respond to. A key component of this change is analyzing events other than just shootings. These additional events include vehicle attacks, knife attacks, and any other type of event where the primary concern is an
International
- GunPolicy.org GunPolicy.org is the world's most comprehensive and accessible Web source for published evidence on armed violence, firearm law and gun control. GunPolicy.org provides evidence-based, country-by-country intelligence from a broad range of official and academic sources.
- Global Study on Firearms Trafficking 2020 (UNODC) UNODC has carried out its most comprehensive collec- tion of data on firearms trafficking to date, gathering details from survey responses and other sources in 81 countries for 2016-17. These data give a unique insight into the patterns of trafficking globally, regionally and nationally, providing a vital resource for law enforcement, policymakers and public bodies seeking to reduce the damage caused by the illicit circulation of firearms.
- Estimating Global Civilian-Held Firearms Numbers (Small Arms Survey) In a new Briefing Report, the Small Arms Survey presents its findings on the number of firearms held by civilians. The Survey estimates that of the one billion firearms in global circulation as of 2017, 857 million (85 per cent) are in civilian hands.The US has an estimated 393,300,000 firearms, at a rate of 120.5 firearms for every 100 residents.
- Global Firearms Holdings (Small Arms Survey) The Small Arms Survey estimates that of the one billion firearms in global circulation as of 2017, 857 million (85 per cent) are in civilian hands, 133 million (13 per cent) are in military arsenals, and 23 million (2 per cent) are owned by law enforcement agencies. Our studies suggest that the global stockpile has increased over the past decade, largely due to civilian holdings, which grew from 650 million in 2006 to 857 million in 2017.
- The Small Arms Trade Transparency Barometer (Small Arms Survey) The Small Arms Trade Transparency Barometer assesses the transparency of top and major exporters—states that are believed to have exported at least USD 10 million worth of small arms and light weapons, including their parts, accessories, and ammunition, for at least one calendar year since 2001.
- Global Mortality From Firearms, 1990-2016 (JAMA, Aug 2018) This study provides an estimate of the global burden of firearms deaths in 2016, change in this burden from 1990, and variation in levels and rates among countries.
- Arms Seized by Type (UNODC) Arms that have been temporarily physically apprehended by a competent authority in relation to a suspected criminal offence or administrative violation related to these items. Seized items can be permanently confiscated at a later stage by the state, or returned to their legitimate owners.
- Arms Found and Surrendered by Type (UNODC) Found items, Surrendered items
- Arms Seized by Type of Marking (UNODC) A uniquely marked item has a unique marking providing the name of the manufacturer, the country or place of manufacture and the serial number, or maintain any alternative unique user-friendly marking with simple geometric symbols in combination with a numeric and/or alphanumeric code, permitting ready identification by all States of the country of manufacture.
- Arms Seized by Condition (UNODC) Disaggregated by: Assembled arms, Converted arms, Modified arms, Industrially manufactured arms with no signs of alteration or deactivation, Reactivated arms
- Arms Seized by Legal Justification by Seizures (UNODC) Disaggregated by: Altered markings,Illicit manufacture,Illicit possession, Illicit trafficking, Illicit use
- Firearms Seized in Connection with Other Suspected Offenses (UNODC) Disaggregated by: Only illicit trafficking in weapons; Illicit possession or use; Other weapons offences; Drug trafficking; Other forms of trafficking; Other forms of organized crime; Violent crime; Acts of terrorism.
- Location of Firearms Seizure (UNODC) Disaggregated by: Planes and airports; Vessels and harbors; Land borders; Domestic / Within national territory.
- Arms Seized, Found and Surrendered by Outcome of Tracing (UNODC) The systematic tracking of arms and, where possible, their parts and components, and ammunition, at a national and/or international level for the purpose of assisting the competent authorities of States Parties in detecting, investigating and analysing illicit manufacturing and illicit trafficking. Searching the national record, for example, is considered as tracing.
- Cases (Incidences) of Arms Seizure (UNODC) A single act of seizing arms, their parts and components or ammunition, regardless of how many items are seized collectively.
- Parts/Components and Ammunition Seized (UNODC) Parts, components, and ammunition that have been temporarily physically apprehended by a competent authority in relation to a suspected criminal offence or administrative violation related to these items. Seized items can be permanently confiscated at a later stage by the state, or returned to their legitimate owners.
