Will a gun that uses facial recognition reduce firearm deaths? A Colorado entrepreneur thinks so

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has gone through a metamorphosis since its founding after the Civil War. Created to improve marksmanship among soldiers and recruits, it at first cooperated with the federal government on concealed weapon permits and other laws regulating firearms. 

Over time, however, the NRA grew into a powerful organization that opposed almost all gun control measures. It created a lobbying arm, raised a substantial war chest, and developed largely unrivaled influence over lawmakers. The NRA actively helped to block efforts to ban assault rifles after the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, when a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six staff members. 

More recently, a gunman killed at least 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. The NRA’s role was further put under the microscope given that the mass shooting occurred just days before the organization’s annual meeting in Houston, less than 300 miles away from Uvalde, and its speakers list included Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz, both of whom exert tremendous political power over the issue of gun safety and have been adamant supporters of the NRA.

Gun control groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and March for Our Lives have been challenging the NRA’s primacy among politicians and at the polls in recent years. In 2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit demanding its dissolution, alleging top leadership diverted funds for their personal use. Five months after that lawsuit was filed, the organization filed for bankruptcy, which was blocked by a judge as was James’ original lawsuit in 2022.

To see how the NRA became what it is today, Stacker compiled a timeline of its history, from its founding to its current court battles. All information was gleaned from historical records, primary documents, and news and legal accounts. 

You may also like: 50 facts about guns in America

Union Army veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate worried about the poor marksmanship among their troops. They founded the National Rifle Association to teach rifle skills. Fellow Civil War veteran Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who was also a former governor of Rhode Island and U.S. senator, became the organization’s first president. The group is chartered by the state of New York.

With $25,000 from New York state, the NRA bought part of what was the Creed family farm to use as a rifle range for the New York State National Guard. Renamed Creedmoor, the range opened a year later and began holding annual matches. Nearby streets are named after weapons: Winchester Boulevard, and Range, Musket, Pistol, and Sabre streets.

The range was bought by the state in 1907 and closed.

The National Revolver Association, part of the NRA, first proposed requiring a permit to carry a concealed weapon in the 1920s. Other aspects of the NRA’s legislation: adding five years prison time if a gun was used in a crime, prohibiting the sale of a gun to a non-citizen, imposing a one-day waiting period before a purchaser could take possession of a gun, and opening records of gun sales to police. Nine states quickly adopted the legislation.

The NRA helped President Franklin Roosevelt draft the Natinal Firearms Act, a response to Prohibition-era violence. Machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and other weapons were taxed and were required to be registered. “I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons,” NRA President Karl T. Frederick told Congress. “I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.” But he refused to go along with restricting the sale of pistols.

The NRA again supported the Federal Firearms Act of 1938. The legislation was written into law and required manufacturers, importers, and gun dealers to get a federal license; prohibited felons from buying guns; and demanded gun sellers keep records.

You may also like: Gun control legislation that passed and failed over the last 20 years

The NRA came out in strong support of California’s Mulford Act, which banned the open carry of firearms. The law was passed after armed Black Panthers began patrolling to guard against police brutality. Two dozen Black Panthers carrying weapons entered the state Capitol in May as lawmakers considered the legislation before being disarmed by the state police.

Congress imposed new restrictions on gun sales with the Gun Control Act following the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother, Robert Kennedy, and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. The new law limited mail-order gun purchases, required all weapons to carry serial numbers, and restricted felons, those who abused drugs, and those who were mentally ill, from buying weapons.

Provisions it did not include: a national gun registry or licenses for all gun carriers. The NRA had opposed them, raising President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ire, who called it “a powerful lobby, a gun lobby.”

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or the ATF, killed a member of the NRA who was hiding a cache of illegal weapons. In response, the NRA created a lobbying arm called the Institute for Legislative Action. A Texas lawyer named Harlon Carter, who had led the Border Patrol in the 1950s, was chosen to head it.

A hardliner named Harlon Carter ran up against older members of the NRA who tried to curtail his power by cutting his staff. He organized a takeover at the NRA’s annual convention in 1977 and became the group’s executive vice president. Another hardliner, Neal Knox, took over the Institute for Legislative Action. Suddenly, the NRA group opposed all types of gun control.

"You don’t stop crime by attacking guns,” Carter said. “You stop crime by stopping criminals.”

The NRA made its first endorsement for president in 1980 and wound up backed a winner: Ronald Reagan. As governor of California, Reagan had signed the Mulford Act into law. He was a lifelong member of the NRA but supported some gun control measures—particularly after the attempt on his life that wounded his press secretary, Jim Brady.

You may also like: 25 terms you should know to understand the gun control debate

The NRA saw years of lobbying succeed with the passage of the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act. It rolled back restrictions on buying, selling, and transporting weapons across state lines that were included in the 1968 Gun Control Act. The pull off the passage of the legislation, the NRA donated $1.4 million to candidates for Congress during the 1984 elections.

When John Hinckley tried to kill President Ronald Reagan in 1981, he also shot press secretary Jim Brady in the head. Twelve years later, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act passed, requiring a background check for those buying firearms. The electronic National Instant Criminal Background Check System went online in 1981. The NRA argued unsuccessfully in court that the Brady Act and the NICS were unconstitutional infringements on states’ rights.

The NRA opposed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which banned the manufacture, ownership, or transfer of AR-15s and other semiautomatic weapons. Another provision limited magazines to 10 bullets. It was prompted by a number of mass shootings, including one on the Long Island Railroad in New York and another at a law firm in San Francisco.

After the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado, the NRA continued to oppose a waiting period for handgun purchases and a limit of one gun a month for individual purchases, but said it would consider background checks at gun shows and bar juveniles with felony convictions from buying guns. It also went forward with its annual meeting in Denver, though it was scaled down and was met by protests.

Actor Charlton Heston, NRA president from 1998 to 2003, famously stood before NRA members at the group’s 2000 convention, raised a rifle over his head, and said, “From my cold dead hands.” Heston was rallying them against the presidential candidacy of Vice President Al Gore. “I want to say those fighting words for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Gore,” he said. “From my cold, dead hands.” The phrase was from a slogan the NRA used on a series of bumper stickers.

You may also like: Experts rank the best US presidents of all time

The federal assault weapon ban was allowed to expire in 2004. Congressmen and women who voted for the ban were opposed by the NRA at the polls.

The NRA pushed for immunity for gun manufacturers from civil lawsuits rising out of crimes committed with guns. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was signed by President George W. Bush and derailed attempts to hold manufacturers liable for crimes. The NRA praised the law as “a vitally important first step toward ending the anti-gun lobby’s shameless attempts to bankrupt the American firearms industry through reckless lawsuits.”

The NRA challenged an order from the New Orleans police chief to his officers to confiscate firearms from residents after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city. The NRA won a temporary injunction. Later, the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act barred the seizure of firearms during emergencies.

After 20 first-graders and six adults were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, by a gunman using a semiautomatic weapon, the NRA again rejected demands for more gun controls. The group’s executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, instead called for armed police officers in every school in the country and announced an NRA training program. The Washington Post reported some senior officials in the group thought it should take a less confrontational approach.

Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, President Barack Obama pushed to reinstate the ban on assault weapons. Although a majority of Americans backed tighter gun controls, the NRA instituted a campaign to “Stop the Gun Ban.” The U.S. Senate voted it down, 60 to 40.

You may also like: Jobs with the highest fatality rates in the US

After the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the NRA released a video saying “the mainstream media love mass shootings,” accusing journalists of using them “to juice their ratings and push their agenda.” The organization again resisted calls for stricter gun laws. A student-led group called March for Our Lives grew out of the tragedy to challenge the NRA and organized massive protests in Washington D.C. and across the country calling for new gun control laws.

Retired U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North accused the NRA’s executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, of ousting him as president. North had alleged financial misbehavior by the group’s leadership. LaPierre in turn accused North of threatening to release “damaging” information about him in a letter to NRA board members, some of whom subsequently resigned. Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James began investigating the organization’s tax-exempt status and its charitable foundation.

Also in 2019, a Russian gun rights activist Maria Butina was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring with a Russian official to infiltrate the NRA. The FBI said her goal was to use the NRA to establish contact with officials and influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Russia. She was released in October and deported to Moscow.

New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2020 filed a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA, accusing its leaders of diverting millions of dollars from the organization to pay for their lavish lifestyles. Their failure to manage the NRA’s funds had contributed to a loss of more than $64 million in only three years, she charged. Among the alleged misappropriation of funds: trips to the Bahamas and private jets.

The NRA tried and failed to use bankruptcy laws to evade Letitia James’ attempt to shut the group down. A federal bankruptcy judge ruled in May that it could not use a bankruptcy claim “to address a regulatory enforcement problem.” Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said the NRA would keep fighting for gun rights. James tweeted: "The @NRA does not get to dictate if and where it will answer for its actions, and our case will continue in New York court... We sued the @NRA to put an end to its fraud and abuse, and now we will continue our work to hold the organization accountable."

In early March 2022, a judge blocked New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit attempting to put the NRA out of business. In his 42-page decision, Justice Joel M. Cohen of the New York County Supreme Court in Manhattan wrote, “The Complaint does not allege that any financial misconduct benefited the NRA, or that the NRA exists primarily to carry out such activity, or that the NRA is incapable of continuing its legitimate activities on behalf of its millions of members.” He continued: “The Complaint does not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the ‘corporate death penalty’.” 

While James’ attempt to dissolve the NRA was blocked, Cohen did say that 14 of James’ other claims could move forward, including potentially ousting longtime CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre (pictured here). “[James’] allegations concern primarily private harm to the NRA and its members and donors, which if proven can be addressed by the targeted, less intrusive relief she seeks through other claims in her Complaint,” Cohen wrote. According to his decision, James described LaPierre’s abuse of power, exploitation, and “general disregard for corporate governance” in “meticulous detail.” 

After the judge’s ruling, James tweeted that she is reviewing her legal options. Though she said she was disappointed by the result, she hopes to continue to expose the alleged “fraud, abuse, and greed permeate through the NRA and its senior leadership.” 

NRA President Charles Cotton also released a statement in response to the judge’s decision. “The message is loud and clear: the NRA is strong and secure in its mission to protect constitutional freedom,” he said. Meanwhile, despite the NRA’s attempted bankruptcy filing, their lobbying expenditures are on track with $650,000 in the first quarter of 2022 versus $870k during the same period in 2021, according to Open Secrets.

You may also like: Countries spending the most on their militaries

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has gone through a metamorphosis since its founding after the Civil War. Created to improve marksmanship among soldiers and recruits, it at first cooperated with the federal government on concealed weapon permits and other laws regulating firearms. 

Over time, however, the NRA grew into a powerful organization that opposed almost all gun control measures. It created a lobbying arm, raised a substantial war chest, and developed unrivaled influence over lawmakers. The NRA actively helped to block efforts to ban assault rifles after the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, when a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six staff members. 

When a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, the NRA's role was further put under the microscope given that the mass shooting occurred just days before the organization's annual meeting in Houston, less than 300 miles away from Uvalde, and its speakers list included Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz, both of whom exert tremendous political power over the issue of gun safety and have been adamant supporters of the NRA. (The convention went on as planned, despite the events in Uvalde, with Donald Trump and Ted Cruz among the speakers.)

Gun control groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and March for Our Lives have been challenging the NRA's primacy among politicians and at the polls in recent years. In 2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit demanding its dissolution, alleging top leadership diverted funds for their personal use. Five months after that lawsuit was filed, the organization filed for bankruptcy, which was blocked by a judge as was James' original lawsuit in 2022.

Mass shootings, sadly, show no sign of abating, and gun culture in America remains steadfast, despite the prevalence of such incidents. To see how the NRA became what it is today, Stacker compiled a timeline of its history, from its founding to its current court battles. All information was gleaned from historical records, primary documents, and news and legal accounts. 

You may also like: 50 facts about guns in America

Two Union Army veterans—Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate—worried about the poor marksmanship among their troops, created the National Rifle Association to teach rifle skills. Another Civil War veteran as well as a former governor of Rhode Island and a U.S. senator, Gen. Ambrose Burnside, became the first president. The organization is chartered by the state of New York.

With $25,000 from New York state, the NRA bought part of what was the Creed family farm to use as a rifle range for the New York State National Guard. Renamed Creedmoor, the range opened a year later and annual matches were held there. Nearby streets are named after weapons: Winchester Boulevard, and Range, Musket, Pistol, and Sabre streets. The range was closed in 1907 after it was bought by the state.

The National Revolver Association, which was part of the NRA, proposed requiring a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Other aspects of the NRA’s legislation: adding five years prison time if a gun was used in a crime, prohibiting the sale of a gun to a non-citizen, imposing a one-day waiting period before a purchaser could take possession of a gun, and opening records of gun sales to police. Nine states adopted the legislation.

The NRA helped President Franklin Roosevelt draft the National Firearms Act, a response to Prohibition-era violence. Machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and other weapons were taxed and were required to be registered. “I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons,” the NRA president, Karl T. Frederick, told Congress. “I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.” But he refused to go along with restricting the sale of pistols.

The NRA again supported the Federal Firearms Act of 1938 , which required manufacturers, importers, and gun dealers to get a federal license, prohibited felons from buying guns, and demanded gun sellers keep records.

You may also like: Youngest and oldest presidents in U.S. history

The NRA supported a California law, the Mulford Act, which banned the open carry of firearms. The law was passed after armed Black Panthers began patrolling to guard against police brutality. Two dozen Black Panthers carrying weapons entered the state Capitol in May as lawmakers considered the legislation before being disarmed by the state police.

Congress, following the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother, Robert Kennedy, and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., imposed new restrictions on gun sales in the Gun Control Act. The new law limited mail-order gun purchases, required all weapons to carry serial numbers, and restricted felons, those who abused drugs, and those who were mentally ill, from buying weapons. Provisions it did not include: a national gun registry or licenses for all gun carriers. The NRA had opposed them, raising President Lyndon B. Johnson's ire, who called it “a powerful lobby, a gun lobby.”

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or the ATF, killed a member of the NRA who was hiding a cache of illegal weapons. In response, the NRA for the first time created a lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action. A Texas lawyer named Harlon Carter, who had led the Border Patrol in the 1950s, was chosen to head it.

A hardliner, Harlon Carter ran up against older members of the NRA, who tried to curtail his power by cutting his staff. He organized a take over at the NRA’s annual convention in 1977 and became the group’s executive vice president. Another hardliner, Neal Knox, took over the Institute for Legislative Action. Now the group opposes all types of gun control. "You don't stop crime by attacking guns,” Carter said. “You stop crime by stopping criminals.”

The NRA made its first endorsement for president and backed a winner, Ronald Reagan. It was Reagan who as governor of California had signed the Mulford Act into law. He was a lifelong member of the NRA but supported some gun control measures—particularly after the attempt on his life that wounded his press secretary, Jim Brady.

You may also like: 25 terms you should know to understand the health care debate

The NRA saw years of lobbying succeed with the passage of the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act. It rolled back restrictions on buying, selling, and transporting weapons across state lines that were included in the 1968 Gun Control Act. The NRA had donated $1.4 million to candidates for Congress during the 1984 elections.

When John Hinckley tried to kill President Ronald Reagan in 1981, he also shot press secretary Jim Brady, in the head. Twelve years later, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act passed, and required a background check for those buying firearms. The electronic National Instant Criminal Background Check System went online in 1981. The NRA argued unsuccessfully in court that the Brady Act and the NICS were unconstitutional infringements on states’ rights.

The NRA opposed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which banned the manufacture, ownership, or transfer of AR-15s and other semiautomatic weapons. Another provision limited magazines to 10 bullets. It was prompted by a number of mass shootings, including one on the Long Island Railroad in New York and another at a law firm in San Francisco.

After the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado, the NRA continued to oppose a waiting period for handgun purchases and a limit of one gun a month for individual purchases, but said it would consider background checks at gun shows and bar juveniles with felony convictions from buying guns. It also went forward with its annual meeting in Denver, though it was scaled down and was met by protests.

Actor Charlton Heston, the president of the NRA from 1998 to 2003, famously told NRA members at the group’s convention in 2000, “From my cold dead hands,” as he raised a rifle above his head. Heston was rallying them against the candidacy of Vice President Al Gore, then running for president. "I want to say those fighting words for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Gore,” he said. “From my cold, dead hands.”

You may also like: From Stonewall to today: 50 years of modern LGBTQ+ history

The federal assault weapon ban was allowed to expire. Congressmen and women who voted for the ban were opposed by the NRA at the polls.

The NRA pushed for immunity for gun manufacturers from civil lawsuits rising out of crimes committed with guns. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was signed by President George W. Bush and derailed attempts to hold manufacturers liable for the crimes. The NRA praised the law as “a vitally important first step toward ending the anti-gun lobby’s shameless attempts to bankrupt the American firearms industry through reckless lawsuits.”

The NRA challenged an order from the New Orleans police chief to his officers to confiscate firearms from residents after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city. The NRA won a temporary injunction. Later the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act barred the seizure of firearms during emergencies.

After 20 first-graders and six adults were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, by a gunman using a semiautomatic weapon, the NRA again rejected demands for more gun controls. The group’s executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, instead called for armed police officers in every school in the country and announced an NRA training program. The Washington Post reported some senior officials in the group thought it should take a less confrontational approach.

Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, President Barack Obama wanted to reinstate the ban on assault weapons. Although a majority of Americans backed tighter gun controls, the NRA instituted a campaign to “Stop the Gun Ban.” The U.S. Senate voted it down, 60 to 40.

You may also like: 10 most common items polluting the ocean

After the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the NRA released a video saying “the mainstream media love mass shootings” and use them “to juice their ratings and push their agenda.” It again resisted calls for stricter gun laws. But a student-led group, March for Our Lives, grew out of the tragedy to challenge the NRA and organized a massive protest in Washington, D.C., and across the country calling for new gun control laws.

Retired U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North accused the executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, of ousting him as president. North had alleged financial misbehavior by the group’s leadership. LaPierre in turn accused North of threatening to release “damaging” information about him in a letter to NRA board members, some of whom subsequently resigned. Meanwhile the attorney general of New York, Letitia James, began investigating the organization’s tax exempt status and its charitable foundation.

Also that year, a Russian gun rights activist, Maria Butina, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring with a Russian official to infiltrate the NRA. The FBI said her goal was to use the NRA to establish contact with officials and influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Russia. She was released in October and deported to Moscow.

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA, accusing its leaders of diverting millions of dollars from the organization to pay for their lavish lifestyles. Their failure to manage the NRA’s funds had contributed to a loss of more than $64 million in only three years, she charged. Among the alleged misappropriation of funds: trips to the Bahamas and private jets.

The NRA tried and failed to use bankruptcy laws to evade Letitia James’ attempt to shut the group down. A federal bankruptcy judge ruled in May that it could not use a bankruptcy claim “to address a regulatory enforcement problem.” Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said the NRA would keep fighting for gun rights. James tweeted: "The @NRA does not get to dictate if and where it will answer for its actions, and our case will continue in New York court... We sued the @NRA to put an end to its fraud and abuse, and now we will continue our work to hold the organization accountable."

You may also like: Do you know the mayors of these major cities?

In early March 2022, a judge blocked New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit attempting to put the NRA out of business. In his 42-page decision, Justice Joel M. Cohen of the New York County Supreme Court in Manhattan wrote: "The Complaint does not allege that any financial misconduct benefited the NRA, or that the NRA exists primarily to carry out such activity, or that the NRA is incapable of continuing its legitimate activities on behalf of its millions of members. … The Complaint does not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the 'corporate death penalty.'" 

While James' attempt to dissolve the NRA was blocked, Cohen did say that 14 of James' other claims could move forward, including potentially ousting longtime CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre (pictured here). "[James'] allegations concern primarily private harm to the NRA and its members and donors, which if proven can be addressed by the targeted, less intrusive relief she seeks through other claims in her Complaint," Cohen wrote. According to his decision, James described LaPierre's abuse of power, exploitation, and "general disregard for corporate governance" in "meticulous detail." 

After the judge's ruling, James tweeted that she was reviewing her legal options. Though she said she was disappointed by the result, she hopes to continue to expose the alleged "fraud, abuse, and greed [that] permeate through the NRA and its senior leadership." 

NRA President Charles Cotton also released a statement in response to the judge's decision. "The message is loud and clear: the NRA is strong and secure in its mission to protect constitutional freedom," he said. Meanwhile, despite the NRA's attempted bankruptcy filing, its lobbying expenditures remain in the millions annually, according to Open Secrets.

You may also like: Countries spending the most on their militaries

Since the start of 2023, the United States has averaged more than one mass shooting per day. The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit group that tracks gun violence using police reports, government sources, news coverage, and other public data, counted 106 mass shootings in 2023 as of March 9—a period of 68 days.

No official, universal definition of what constitutes a mass shooting currently exists. Groups define it differently based on the number of victims, whether they are killed or injured, whether the shooting occurs in a public or private space, and whether the shooter targets victims. The Gun Violence Archive defines it as an event in which at least four people were killed or injured.

The lack of a consistent definition creates opportunities for people to interpret the data differently, making it difficult for lawmakers to establish a set of agreed-upon facts upon which to address the issue of gun control.

For example, using a much narrower definition of a mass shooting, security specialists who drafted a 2013 congressional report identified just 78 mass shooting events between 1983 and 2012. This figure starkly contrasts the GVA's findings for 2014, which determined 273 mass shootings had occurred that year alone.

As to more recent figures, the Gun Violence Archive recorded 647 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2022. Compared to this time last year, mass shootings in 2023 are outpacing last year's rate. Stacker cited data from the Gun Violence Archive to visualize the scope of mass shootings thus far in 2023. Data is as of March 7, 2023.

You may also like: From Stonewall to today: 50+ years of modern LGBTQ+ history

Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. However, some of the most high-profile mass shootings of this year, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.

Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws. A 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence, however, shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.

At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.

This year, shooters have attacked people at college campuses, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, and even on highways.

The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.

Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago, leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including one 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.

Firearms are the leading cause of death in people under the age of 24 years in the U.S., according to a study published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics in December 2022.

Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. However, some of this year's most high-profile mass shootings, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.

Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws. A 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence, however, shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.

At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.

This year, shooters have attacked people at college campuses, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, highways, and most recently, elementary schools. 

The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.

Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including a 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.

Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. However, some of the most high-profile mass shootings of this year, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.

Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws; however, a 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.

At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.

This year, shooters have attacked people at schools, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, highways, and most recently, workplaces. 

The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.

Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including a 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.