How Gun Violence In Tennessee Compares To Other States

By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 WS Nashville

2021-06-28

Fueled in part by the pandemic and national unrest in the wake of incidents of police brutality, gun sales hit an all-time high in the United States in 2020 — a trend that shows no sign of slowing in 2021. Gun control advocates are concerned that the growing number of firearms in circulation, many of which are in the hands of first-time owners, will result in increasing rates of gun violence — an all too familiar problem in the United States. Even in 2019, before the most recent surge in firearm sales, there were an estimated 39,707 people killed by guns in the United States, or 12.1 deaths for every 100,000 people. Gun violence varies considerably by state, however, and some parts of the country are far safer than others. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24/7 Wall St. identified the states with the most gun violence. In Tennessee, 1,270 people were killed by guns in 2019, or 18.6 for every 100,000 people, the 10th highest firearm fatality rate among states. Of all deaths from gun violence in the state that year, 746 were classified as suicides and 474 as homicides. As is the case nationwide, gun sales — measured by proxy through background checks — are on the rise in Tennessee. There were a total of 984,760 background checks in the state in 2020, or 14,420 for every 100,000 people — a 55.0% rate increase from 2019. Across the United States, there were more than 39.3 million background checks in 2020, or 11,981 for every 100,000 people, up 40.4% from the previous year. All data used in this story is from the CDC and the FBI’s National instant Criminal Background Check system.

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This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.