Google News 09/01: Shooting in Texas

Yet another mass shooting made headlines today, this one taking place on a highway between the Texas cities of Midland and Odessa. The perpetrator fled from police after a traffic stop and shot indiscriminately at drivers and pedestrians, killing 8 people and injuring 20 others.

Hearing about this atrocity and the many that came before it, it’s hard not to conclude that America is currently suffering from an epidemic of gun violence. This is also supported by the latest data: gun homicide rates have been increasing since 2014, reaching a 40-year peak of 14,542 deaths in 2018. Moreover, instances of mass shootings are also on the rise (although this depends, to some extent, on the definition used).

The question on everyone’s mind is: what can possibly explain this rise in violent behavior?

Gun control advocates see this trend and conclude that stricter gun regulations are needed in order to limit access to firearms. In other words, they respond to an increase in gun violence by focusing on the issue of gun ownership.

But frankly, I’m not so sure about this argument. For one, gun ownership has actually been falling in recent years, although we would expect higher rates to explain this recent rise in violence. Secondly, it isn’t exactly clear that the rise in gun homicides is due to mass shootings…