In only 64 days, the U.S. surpassed 100 mass shootings in 2023. There have been more mass shootings than days in the U.S. so far.
It marks a disturbing milestone that underscores the grave cost of inaction in the government at federal and state levels across the country.
America reached the grim number by the first week of March – record time, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
At least 7,537 people have also died as a result of different forms of gun violence in the country so far this year. There were 52 mass shootings in January, 41 in February, and 11 so far in March, making it a total of 104 so far.
A mass shooting is defined as one in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.
The 100th mass shooting of the year left three people, including a child, dead and another person injured in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
The U.S. didn’t exceed 100 mass shootings until March 19 in 2022 and March 22 in 2021, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
Following the passage of last year’s bipartisan gun safety law, there’s been little political momentum in the divided Congress for more gun safety legislation, even as the rate of mass shootings has picked up.
The bipartisan gun safety bill in 2022 marked the most significant piece of federal gun legislation in nearly three decades. But since it was signed into law, it has become extremely unlikely a divided Congress will pass stricter gun laws.
There are about 120 guns for every 100 Americans, according to the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey.
No other nation has more civilian guns than people. And about 44 percent of U.S. adults live in a household with a gun, and about one-third own one personally according to surveys. The U.S. has more deaths from gun violence than any other developed country per capita.
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