Ok, data it is:
There were 109 public mass shootings in the United States and 35 public mass shootings in 35 other economically and politically comparative countries between 2000 and 2022. The United States makes up 33 percent of the combined population of these 36 countries; however, it also accounts for 76 percent of public mass shooting incidents and 70 percent of victim fatalities in these countries.
While there are a multitude of factors contributing to these attacks, studies find the higher rate of public mass shootings in America is associated, at least in part, with less restrictive firearm laws and
higher rates of civilian firearm ownership relative to many other countries.
Take, for example, China and Japan. China had three public mass shootings and Japan had no incidents between 2000 and 2022, despite having some of the largest populations. These low rates are likely because
China and
Japan have some of the strictest gun control measures in the world.
Of importance to note, China and Japan in turn have had higher rates of public mass
stabbings. This suggests that deeply troubled and isolated individuals, who violently lash out and attempt to kill indiscriminate victims, exist around the world. To this end, there is a concern that restricting firearm access will not fully prevent mass murder, and if policymakers enact "responsible" firearm legislation, those driven to engage in attacks will simply turn to other weapons. However, while perpetrators using either firearms or knives may aim to incur high victim counts, stabbing attacks are often much less deadly than shooting attacks. Take for example, two attacks that occurred on the same day in 2012: the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the United States, which involved 27 casualties (fatalities and injuries), and the Chenpeng Village Primary School stabbing in China, which involved 24 casualties. While the Sandy Hook shooting resulted in 26 fatalities and one injury, all 24 Chenpeng Village stabbing victims survived.
Still, public mass shootings in the 35 comparison countries similar to the United States have also increased and the rise in attacks across countries emphasizes the need for further consideration of the phenomenon as a whole. The number of attacks has more than doubled from 2000–10 to 2011–22, and the greatest number of incidents occurred in 2019 and 2020. Eight of the comparison countries had their first public mass shooting incident after 2010, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Norway. This illuminates a concerning prospect raised in recent research: the potential globalization of American public mass shootings.
In other words, as American media and entertainment culture continue to be exported to foreign countries, it appears to be accompanied by the idolization of American mass shooters as well as international contagion and copycat effects.
So what do you think is the reason for so many mass shootings in the us (accompanied by such high fatality rates?).
Is it simply because there are more guns? There certainly are more guns per capita in the US than any other country on the planet by a huge margin.
Is it because of a national mental health crisis that is far worse than other comparable countries, and that without guns there would be just as many mass casualty events, just that they would involve knives or vehicles? Data would say that mental health in the US is not drastically any different than the other comparable countries, and data would suggest guns cause the most casualties (Las Vegas).
Or is it because of a gun culture that idolizes gun ownership, gun use, violence, and even idolizes mass shootings (at least, among those that are mentally unfit).
A combination of all three?
