There Have Been 422 Mass Shootings In U.S. This Year

Mass shootings have dropped out of the news recently. That doesn't mean they have stopped happening. So far this year (through August 19th), there have been 422 mass shootings in the United States. That's a level that will likely produce another record-setting number by the end of the year.

There have also been 28,085 deaths from guns, and that is also on a record-setting pace.

This may surprise some who thought Congress had taken care of the problem with the gun law they passed a few weeks ago. But that was a very weak law, and is unlikely to affect either mass shootings or gun deaths very much.

There are still giant loopholes in the background check law that allow anyone (including criminals and other dangerous people) to avoid a background check when buying a gun. And anyone can still buy an assault-style weapon (the favorite of mass shooters).

A huge majority of Americans want the loopholes plugged in the background check law, and a slightly smaller majority would like to see assault-style weapons banned. Both would be constitutional, but will not happen as long as Republicans are able to block them in Congress.

The chart above is from the Gun Violence Archive.