Every day, more than 110 Americans are killed with guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded. 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 and 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 4 million gun sales to people who could not legally own guns.
Source: Connor Brooks, “Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2016-2017,” (US Bureau of Justice Statistics, February 2021); FBI: 2018-2020.
Myth
Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
Fact
People with guns kill people, and more efficiently than people without guns. The U.S. gun homicide rate is 26x higher than that of other high-income countries.
Source: Everytown analysis of the most recent year of gun homicides by country (2015 to 2019), GunPolicy.org (accessed January 7, 2022).
Myth
Federal law prohibits ALL domestic abusers from having guns.
Fact
Federal law does not prohibit current or recent former dating partners subject to a restraining order from purchasing or possessing guns.
Source: Everytown, “Gun Violence Against Women,” 2022.
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: Chicago Police Department, “Gun Trace Report,” 2017; Everytown, “Five Things to Know About Crime Guns, Gun Trafficking, and Background Checks,” 2022.
Myth
A small child cannot pull a trigger.
Fact
Every year, hundreds of children age 17 and under gain access to a gun and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else—sometimes fatally.
Source: Everytown, #NotAnAccident Index, 2021.
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 26x that of other high-income countries.
Source: Everytown analysis of the most recent year of gun homicides by country (2015 to 2019), GunPolicy.org (accessed January 7, 2022).
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, “How To Stop Shootings and Gun Violence in Schools,” 2022.
Myth
We don’t own guns, so I don’t need to worry about my kids getting hold of one.
Fact
4.6 million U.S. children live in a household with at least one loaded, unsecured gun. Children and teens access guns in homes other than their own.
Source: Miller and Azrael, “Firearm Storage in US Households with Children: Findings from the 2021 National Firearm Survey,” 2022.
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 Without Background Checks,” 2017; Everytown, “Unchecked,” 2021.
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 Save Lives,” 2020.
Myth
Shoot First laws provide everyone an equal right to self-defense.
Fact
Shoot First laws, also known as Stand Your Ground laws, have a disproportionate impact on communities of color. Across the country, research shows that when white shooters kill Black victims, the resulting homicides are considered justifiable far more frequently than when the shooter is Black and the victim is white.
Source: Roman, “Race, Justifiable Homicide, and Stand Your Ground Laws,” 2013; Everytown, “A License to Kill: Shoot First Laws,” 2021.
Myth
Gun violence affects Black and white people in the US equally.
Fact
Black people in the U.S. are disproportionately impacted by various forms of gun violence. They experience 10 times the gun homicides, 18 times the gun assault injuries, and nearly 3 times the fatal shootings by police of white people in the US.
Source: Everytown, “Impact of Gun Violence on Black Americans,” 2020.
Myth
Active shooter drills make students and 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 and data shows they do cause trauma and anxiety. The best way to protect schools from school shootings are proven threat assessment programs and gun safety laws.
Source: Everytown, “The Impact of Active Shooter Drills in Schools,” 2020.
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