Click to see the interactive graphic.
A deranged young man opens fire in an elementary school or movie theater. An assassin targets Police officers with a semi-automatic rifle. A terrorist sprays bullets into a nightclub.
Shocking and frightening, such dramatic examples of gun violence tend to capture headlines and shape our personal perceptions of security. And with good reason – when children, Police officers, or innocent bystanders are brutally murdered, all of us feel targeted and vulnerable.
But when it comes to understanding the scale and nature of gun violence in America and to devising policy solutions that might make us safer, these high-profile incidents can mislead as much as they inform.
This excellent interactive graphic gives a much clearer picture of the annual gun deaths in our country — all 33,000 of them.
Take a look. And then remember that every single one of those little dots represents a human being.