Every day, 100 people are shot and killed in the United States. There are a lot of widespread myths and conflicting information about guns, gun violence, and gun safety laws in America. To set the record straight, we’ve developed a series of graphics to help you “fork over the facts” and dispel some of the most prominent myths about gun violence.
Help educate the people in your life about these important issues by sharing this information with your friends and family. Download & share these graphics on social media.
Myth
Criminals will always find a way to get their hands on a gun.
Fact
Laws like background checks stop gun sales to criminals every day. Since 1994, these laws have blocked more than 3.5 million gun sales to people who could not legally own guns.
Source: Karberg, Frandsen, Durso, Buskirk, Lee. “Firearm Transfers,” 2015; FBI, 2016-2018.
Myth
Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
Fact
People with guns kill people, and more efficiently than people without guns. The US gun homicide rate is 25x higher than that of other high-income countries.
Source: Grinshteyn, Hemenway, “Violent Death Rates,” 2019.
Myth
Federal law prohibits ALL domestic abusers from having guns.
Fact
Federal law generally does not cover abusive dating partners or convicted stalkers.
Source: Everytown, “Gun Violence Against Women,” 2019.
Myth
Strong gun laws don’t work. Look at Chicago.
Fact
Chicago proves why we must push for strong federal gun laws. Many of the guns used in crime in Chicago can be traced back to nearby states with weaker gun laws.
Source: “Gun Trace Report, 2017,” Chicago Police Department.
Myth
A small child cannot pull a trigger.
Fact
Every year, nearly 350 children age 17 & under gain access to a gun & unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else—sometimes fatally.
Source: Everytown, #NotAnAccident Index, 2019.
Myth
The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.
Fact
If more guns everywhere made us safer, America would be the safest country on earth. Instead, we have a gun homicide rate 25x that of other high-income countries.
Source: Grinshteyn, Hemenway, “Violent Death Rates,” 2019.
Myth
Arming teachers will keep our kids safer in schools.
Fact
Arming teachers ignores research that shows the presence of a gun increases the risks posed to children and teachers. School safety experts and law enforcement oppose arming teachers.
Source: Everytown, “Keeping Schools Safe,” 2020.
Myth
Anyone who wants to get their hands on a gun to kill can do it.
Fact
No single law can prevent all gun violence, but there are laws that may help prevent mass shootings. Red flag laws can save lives by allowing family or law enforcement to intervene.
Source: Everytown, “Extreme Risk Laws,” 2020.
Myth
We don’t own guns, so I don’t need to worry about my kids getting hold of one.
Fact
Nearly 4.6 million US children live in a household with at least one loaded, unsecured gun. Children and teens access guns in homes other than their own.
Source: Azrael, Cohen, Salhi, Miller, “Firearm Storage,” 2018.
Myth
Everyone already has to get a background check when buying a gun.
Fact
Federal law only requires licensed dealers to perform background checks. That means that millions of guns are exchanged each year without one—often online or at gun shows.
Source: Miller, Hepburn, Azrael, “Firearm Acquisition,” 2017; Everytown, “Unchecked,” 2019.
Myth
Red flag laws take guns from people without due process.
Fact
A judge can only issue a final red flag order following a hearing of which the person is given notice and during which they have an opportunity to be heard. Red flag laws also allow an individual to petition to terminate an existing order.
Source: Everytown, “Extreme Risk Laws,” 2020.
Myth
Stand Your Ground laws provide everyone an equal right to self-defense.
Fact
Stand Your Ground laws have a disproportionate impact on communities of color. When white shooters kill Black victims, the resulting homicides are deemed justifiable 11x more frequently than when the shooter is Black and the victim is white.
Source: Roman J. Race, justifiable homicide, and Stand Your Ground Laws: Analysis of FBI Supplementary Homicide Report data. Urban Institute. 2013.
Myth
Stay-at-home orders and social distancing due to COVID-19 have decreased gun violence.
Fact
Unprecedented increases in gun sales, combined with economic distress & social isolation due to COVID-19, are intensifying the country’s long-standing gun violence crisis.
Source: Everytown, “Gun Violence and COVID-19,” 2020.
Myth
Gun violence affects Black and white people in the US equally.
Fact
Black people in the US are disproportionately impacted by various forms of gun violence. They experience nearly 10 times the gun homicides, 15 times the gun assaults, and 3 times the fatal police shootings of white people in the US.
Source: Everytown, “Impact of Gun Violence on Black Americans,” 2020.
Myth
Active shooter drills make students & school staff more safe in the case of an active shooter.
Fact
There is no evidence to show student participation in active shooter drills saves lives & data shows they do cause trauma and anxiety. The best way to protect schools from school shootings are proven threat assessment programs & gun safety laws.
Source: Everytown, “The Impact of Active Shooter Drills in Schools,” 2020.
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