Know The Facts: Guns and Gun Violence

Editors Note: Each mass shooting in America triggers intense emotional discussion. The Concho Observer feels it’s important to present the facts about gun ownership, violence, statistics about that violence, and the firearms technology that is currently available, which are required to have an intelligent discussion on the subject.

The issue of gun violence will continue to dominate public debate and discussion until a solution is found.

As the center of global firearm production, the United States is the most armed nation in the world.

Guns hold a unique place in Texas culture; for many, they represent fond memories of hunting or target shooting with friends and family. Guns also represent the physical manifestation of a Constitutionally-guaranteed right.

To the friends and families of victims, firearms represent a trauma that continues for life; the worst thing that can happen to another human being — dying a violent and meaningless death. 

Most of the figures referenced within this report are from data sets from 2022 and 2023, the most recent years for which data is complete. Reports from news outlets have been cited where quotes from experts were given. Data from studies are all usually based on data from the CDC from 2022 and 2023. Data on gun violence from Texas is from the Department of State Health Services. 

All figures in this article were accessed in Aug. 2025 and will be cited with sources at the end, along with a description of some of the technical terms used in studies and reports on guns.  

Firearms Outnumber People

In 2021, the National Shooting Sports Foundation reported that there were 473.2 million firearms in civilian possession in the United States; a ratio that works out to roughly 1.33 guns per person. ¹

According to reports, gun sales are down from the peak seen during the Obama Administration, and in the first two years of the Covid pandemic. ² 

During these periods, gun sales nationally reached more than 1 million transactions per month, including a period of at least 57-months straight where gun transactions exceeded one million per month. ³ 

In fiscal year 2020-2021, the number was regularly more than 1.5 million per month. 

This data is based on the transaction figures collected by the National Instant Check System (NICS), which records the number of approved background checks.⁴ 

Texas Leads In Gun Sales Nationally

More guns are sold in Texas each year than in any other state, 1.6 million in 2021. ⁷

Gun sales have been decreasing each year since the pandemic ended, though they are still higher than in the decades preceding Obama’s election.

In July of 2025, NICS reported that they approved over 900,000 background checks nationwide. 

It’s important to note that buyers may be purchasing multiple guns, which is legal in Texas.

The figure is not informative of the number of new guns on the streets, as used guns also make up a portion of these gun sales. 

From Covington in The Texas Tribune ⁷: “In addition, an estimated 47,000 guns are stolen each year in Texas alone, which is likely an undercount, said Silvia Villarreal, director of research translation for the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at Johns Hopkins University. 

Figures on Homicide and Suicide 

In America, more than 48,000 people died from gun-related injuries in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control — or, roughly 132 people dying from a firearm-related injury each day.

According to the data, more than half of firearm-related deaths represent suicides, while 40 percent were firearm homicides. That year, another 45 people were killed by unintentional discharges. ⁵

In Texas, more than 4,500 people died from homicide, suicide, or unintentional shooting in 2022, or about 12 per day. This represents 9.375 percent of firearms deaths nationwide for that year. ⁶

The number of children killed by guns tripled in a decade.

In 2012, around 100 Texans under 18 died of gunshot wounds. In 2022, the number reached nearly 300, and firearms were the leading cause of death among young people aged 1-17 in 2023. ⁷

In Texas, according to SDHS, 62 percent of all suicides committed by men, and 38 percent of all suicides by women involved a firearm — 3,804 in all. ⁸

Data for homicide deaths involving a gun are more varied.

John’s Hopkins University analyzed CDC data from 2023, reporting that 1,706 homicides were committed with firearms in Texas that year. ⁹

Figures on Unintentional Gun Death

These figures were published originally by the Bullet Points Project. There is a separate citation for the figures listed in this section in the works cited. 

Unintentional firearm deaths happen more frequently in the US than in other countries.¹ For every unintentional firearm death, there are about 83 unintentional nonfatal injuries caused by firearms across the country.² 

On average, there are 526 unintentional deaths and another 43,729 unintentional injuries due to firearms each year. The majority (67%) of unintentional firearm deaths involve a handgun.⁶

Facts About Gun Violence 

Homicide

From “Intimate Partner Violence, Firearm Injuries and Homicides: A Health Justice Approach to Two Intersecting Public Health Crises.” ¹⁰  

“More than half of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former male intimate partner, and 96 percent of murder-suicide victims are female.

“Firearms are used in more than 50 percent of these IPV-related homicides.

“Shockingly, homicide is the leading cause of death during pregnancy and postpartum.

“Intimate partner violence (IPV) involves physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, and psychological abuse. One in three U.S. women experience physical violence, sexual violence, and/or stalking by a current or former intimate partner over the course of their lifetimes.

“Even though IPV affects women across racial and ethnic group and socioeconomic status, historically marginalized women are at greatest risk: 56.6% of multiracial women, 45.1% of Black women, 47.5% of Native women, and 54% of disabled women experience IPV in their lifetimes. In addition, IPV disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ people, whose experiences are often invisible and whose safety is often ignored by the legal and healthcare systems.”  

“Firearm-deaths data from the CDC illustrates how guns have impacted public health in Texas over the last two decades. Between 2000 and 2020, Black Texans were significantly more likely to die from firearm homicide compared with other racial groups…The No. 1 cause of death for African American males … between the ages of 15 and 34 would be a homicide, and it would involve a firearm.”

Jesenia Pizarro, a criminology researcher at Arizona State University. Covington ⁷ writes in the Texas Tribune.

Suicide 

Guns are, of course, an extremely effective method of suicide, and usually result in the persons death or extreme debilitating injury. With firearm suicide, there is usually never a chance for someone to reach that “think twice” point, where the suicidal person begins to doubt that what they’re doing is the solution. 

“It’s a myth that if someone survives a suicide attempt, they’ll inevitably try again or simply find another method. That’s not what the data shows. The majority of people—about 94% of people who survive a suicide attempt—will continue to survive.”

From Paul Nestadt, MD, psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. ¹⁰

Unintentional Gun Deaths and Injuries

For citations, see Bullet Points section of works cited 

Children aged 10-19 are at highest risk of unintentional firearm deaths among all age groups, and the majority of children who die by unintentional firearm injuries were playing with a gun at the time they were shot.

A study of 16 states found that 43 percent of unintentional gun deaths in this age group took place while the victim or someone else was playing with a gun. In fewer cases, a death occurred when someone thought the gun was unloaded (27%), while hunting (15%), and while loading or cleaning a gun (13%). Among children up-to 9-years of age, a greater percentage of deaths (64%) were due to someone playing with a gun. In general, male children are at higher risk than females.¹¹

A study that surveyed parents and children separately about firearms in their home found that 40 percent of parents incorrectly believed that their child didn’t know where the gun was kept, and 20 percent incorrectly believed that the child had never handled the weapon without their consent.⁷

Compared to children and teens, adults are statistically more likely to fatally shoot themselves on accident than they are to shoot another person.¹¹ For adults 40 and older, unintentional fatal injuries most often occur while hunting, or while cleaning or loading a gun.

The use of drugs or alcohol while handling firearms may also increase the risk of unintentional injury: alcohol was suspected in nearly half of unintentional firearm injury deaths from 2005-2015 among those aged 20-29, and nearly 40 percent of those between the ages of 30 and 39.¹¹ Adults who are unfamiliar with firearms, or who are not trained in safe handling are also more likely to sustain an unintentional injury.

In general, men are at a higher risk of unintentional firearm injury — fatal and nonfatal — than women.^5,11 

It’s important to note that Texas made purchases of gun safety equipment, such as gun safes or locks, tax exempt.

Who Can Buy, Distribute, and Carry Firearms in Texas? 

Nationwide, a purchaser must pass a background check to buy a firearm from a Federal Firearm Licensed (FFL) dealer. 

In Texas, you are required to fill out the necessary forms in order to pass the background check, but there is no statewide background check system, or registry of guns.

The “paperwork,” whether digital or physical, consists of a Form 4473, from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The form lists what type of gun is being sold (long gun, pistol or other), along with the maker, model and serial number for each gun in the transaction.

Dealers might have differing policies about who they can sell guns to. 

In Texas, if you have been issued a License To Carry Handgun (LTCH), you are legally exempt from the background check, although this is up to the discretion of the seller. 

In Texas, it is legal to sell or trade firearms without a background check taking place, if the sale is between two private individuals.

According to legal experts, the liability for the sale is rests with the seller, and it’s illegal to sell a gun to any individual you know cannot legally own a gun — In Texas, the unlawful transfer of a weapon to a known felon is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

Historically, federal convictions for this crime have carried harsher penalties, including lengthy prison sentences.

You must be at least 18 to own any long gun, such as a rifle or shotgun. An example would be a bolt action hunting rifle, or AR-15 is classified as a long gun. 

You must be at least 21 to own a handgun, or firearms registered as other. 

A Glock pistol, a Smith and Wesson revolver, would be examples of handguns. 

License To Carry in Texas

There are exceptions in Texas regarding the possession of a handgun. People aged 18-20 in Texas are eligible to receive a License To Carry Handgun. ¹¹

In 2021, HB 918 gave Texans aged 18-20 the ability to get an LTC if they are protected under certain types of protective orders or magistrate’s emergency protective orders. ¹¹

As of 2021, Texas law no longer requires people to have a license to carry (LTC) in order to carry a handgun in most public places. See Carry of Firearms page for more info on this new law. However, Texans are still able to get a license to carry after the new law takes effect.

People with a handgun license may be able to take their guns to some places where unlicensed people can’t. For example, there are different rules for unlicensed carry and licensed carry near schools and at colleges. Also, businesses and other private property owners can usually choose whether to prohibit unlicensed carry, open carry by license holders, concealed carry by license holders, or some combination of those options.

Additionally, Texans may need a Texas LTC if they want to carry their handgun in another state that requires a handgun license and has a reciprocity agreement with Texas.

In 2021, open carry was legalized for all over the age of 21. At this point, special allowance was given for some situations in which a notice of penal code 30.06 or 30.07 was posted, which inform that it is a crime to carry a gun in these places. 

License to Carry Data

Texas Department of Public Safety reports reveal a significant number of Texas permit holders have been convicted of homicide.⁶

Since 2008, permit holders have been convicted of at least 120 deaths:

• Murder – 55
• Criminal homicide – 14
• Capital murder of multiple persons – 13
• Manslaughter – 11
• Capital murder by terror threat/other felony – 7
• Making a firearm accessible to a child resulting in death – 1
• Criminally negligent homicide – 2
• Murder under influence of sudden passion – 2
• Murder for hire – 2.

From an earlier Concho Observer report: In March of this year, the Texas Attorney General’s office notified Colorado City officials that they could not prohibit a licensed carry holder from attending an open public meeting with their firearm, and to remove signs from the front of their building which displayed penal codes 30.06 and 30.07. 

Definitions 

In reports on gun violence, there are many terms and names for guns and ammunition that are used. 

The AR-15, is a semi-automatic battle rifle, most commonly chambered for the 5.56 NATO round, though other varieties exist for a very wide variety of hunting and security purposes. It’s semi-automatic capability, and its detachable box magazine makes it possible to shoot hundreds of rounds in a minute. It might be referred to as an M-16, but this is the machine gun variant that is authorized only for military and law enforcement use and is unavailable for most commercial purchase. The name comes from the company that designed the weapon, Armalite. 

The AK-47, is a semi-automatic battle rifle, usually chambered for the 7.62×39 Russian round. In form and function this rifle is identical to the AR-15, though the design and caliber are different. The round it fires is high-powered, though its slower and heavier than the 5.56 NATO round. Versions of the rifle that fire different cartridges are available. The two are sometimes confused for each other due to their similar names. The name comes from the name of the designer, Kalashnikov. 

The Glock, is a type of semi-automatic handgun made by Glock in Austria or the U.S., which is available in a wide variety of calibers, though in function all models function identically. Often in pop culture and reports, the Glock is used to refer to guns that are not made by Glock, but function similarly, or are knock-offs. 

Handgun ammunition varies in both power and capability. In the U.S., the 9mm Luger is the most popular handgun round, but handguns are chambered in a variety of ammunition. In some states, hollow-point ammunition is criminalized 

The 5.56 NATO round is a high-powered rifle cartridge. The use of the term “high-powered” is not hyperbole, as it has the capability to pierce a steel battle helmet at 500 yards, and is extremely accurate out to those distances. Capable shooters can practice and be able to hit man-sized targets at these distances quite easily. 

A machine gun, is a weapon that will continue to fire until it runs out of ammunition, simply by holding the trigger down. Often, AK-47’s and AR-15’s are referred to as “machine guns”, even if they are semi-automatic commercial varieties, which is technically incorrect. Machine guns can be owned with proper approval by local law enforcement, Federal Firearms License holders, and those approved by the ATF. It is worth noting that gun manufacturers usually charge 10-20 times more for a machine gun than its commercially available counterpart.

Works Cited 

1. “NSSF Released Most Recent Firearms Production Figures”, National Shooting Sports Foundation, staff report. Accessed Aug. 2025
2. Brownlee, Chip. “Gun Sales Are Plummeting. Here’s Why”, The Trace, online resource. Jan 2025. Accessed Aug. 2025        
3. Sagi, Guy J. “April Marks 57 Months Of Million Plus Firearms Sales Figures”, publish. National Rifle Assoc., American Rifleman Magazine Online, May 2024. Accessed via American Rifleman website, Aug. 2025. Data for July 2025.
4. NICS Firearm Checks, reported data from 1998 to July, 31 2025. Accessed Aug. 2025. 
5. “Fast Facts: Firearm Injury and Death” Centers for Disease Control, Firearm Injury and Death Prevention, staff report. Online resources, accessed Aug. 2025 
6. Wiens, Terra, MPH. “Gun Death in Texas”, published through Texas Gun Sense, Austin, TX. Copyright 2025 Violence Policy Center, Washington, DC., April 2025. Accessed via VPC website, Aug. 2025. N.B. data from this study was collected from Mortality data from the WISQARS database maintained by the federal Centers for Disease Control and, Prevention (CDC), Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and firearms trace data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
7. Covington, Caroline. “Texas’ complex relationship with firearms: Leading America in gun sales, but with a declining gun ownership rate”, Texas Tribune online publication, accessed Aug. 2025.
8. Statistics from the Texas Violent Death Reporting System, Texas Department of State Health Services Online Resources, 2019-2022. Accessed via DSHS website Aug 2025.
9. Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health: “Center For Gun Violence Solutions”, state data for Texas. Online resource, accessed Aug. 2025.           
10. Tobin-Tyler, Elizabeth. “Intimate Partner Violence, Firearm Injuries and Homicides: A Health Justice Approach to Two Intersecting Public Health Crises”, publish. National Library of Medicine, 2023. NLM online resource, accessed Aug. 2025. 
11. “Gun Laws: Information About Gun Laws In Texas”, Texas State Law Library. Online resource accessed Aug. 2025. 

Sources For Unintentional Gun Deaths from Bullet Points Project. Dr. Lena Rothstein from the University of California, Davis contributed to this content.

1. Grinshteyn, E., & Hemenway, D. (2019). Violent death rates in the US compared to those of the other high-income countries, 2015. Preventive Medicine.
2. Kaufman, E. J., Wiebe, D. J., Xiong, R., A., et al. (2020). Epidemiologic trends in fatal and nonfatal firearm injuries in the US, 2009-2017. JAMA Internal Medicine.
3. Pear, V. A., Castillo-Carniglia, A., Kagawa, R. M., et al. (2018). Firearm mortality in California, 2000-2015: The epidemiologic importance of within-state variation.Annals of Epidemiology.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. 
5. Spitzer, S. A., Pear, V. A., McCort, C. D., & Wintemute, G. J. (2020). Incidence, distribution, and lethality of firearm injuries in California from 2005 to 2015.JAMA Network Open.
6. Petrosky, E., Ertl, A., Sheats, K. J., et al. (2020). Surveillance for Violent Deaths— National Violent Death Reporting System, 34 States, Four California Counties, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2017. MMWR Surveill Summ.
7. Baxley, F., & Miller, M. (2006). Parental Misperceptions About Children and Firearms. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
8. Himle, M. B., Miltenberger, R. G., Gatheridge, B. J., et al. (2004). An evaluation of two procedures for training skills to prevent gun play in children. Pediatrics.
9. Holly, C., Porter, S., Kamienski, M., et al. (2019). School-Based and Community-Based Gun Safety Educational Strategies for Injury Prevention. Health Promotion Practice.
10. Howard P. K. (2005). Parents’ beliefs about children and gun safety. Pediatric Nursing. 
11. Solnick, S. J., & Hemenway, D. (2019). Unintentional firearm deaths in the United States 2005-2015. Injury Epidemiology.
12. Pallin, R. (2018). [California Safety and Wellbeing Survey, 2018]. Unpublished raw data.
13. Azrael, D., Cohen, J., Salhi, C., et al. (2018). Firearm Storage in Gun-Owning Households with Children: Results of a 2015 National Survey. Journal of Urban Health.
14. Conner, A., Azrael, D., & Miller, M. (2020). Firearm Safety Discussions Between Clinicians and U.S. Adults Living in Households With Firearms: Results From a 2019 National Survey. Annals of Internal Medicine.
15. Wintemute, G. J., Betz, M. E., & Ranney, M. L. (2016). Yes, You Can: Physicians, Patients, and Firearms. Annals of Internal Medicine.
16. Pallin, R., Charbonneau, A., Wintemute, G. J., et al. (2019). California Public Opinion On Health Professionals Talking With Patients About Firearms. Health Affairs. 
17. Byrne, A., Hagen, M.G., Thompson, L. (2021). Gun Safety for Children. JAMA Pediatrics.
18.  Berrigan, J., Azrael, D., Hemenway, D., et al. (2019). Firearms training and storage practices among US gun owners: a nationally representative study. Injury Prevention: Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention.
19. Hemenway, D., Rausher, S., Violano, P., et al. (2019). Firearms training: what is actually taught? Injury Prevention: Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention.