The recent shooting rampage that left 49 people dead in Orlando, Florida, is just the last, but by no means the only incident taking the lives of dozens of people. Florida, where the event occurred, has also the sad distinction of being the first state to issue 1 million permits to carry concealed guns.
Although violent incidents occur in other countries, they are not as frequent — or as lethal — as in the United States, which has the highest homicide-by-firearms rate among the world's most developed nations. Gun ownership is particularly relevant in the U.S., where civilians own an estimated 300 million guns, making Americans the most heavily armed people in the world on a per capita basis. In comparison, police in the U.S. have approximately 1 million guns.
A report by the Swiss-based Small Arms Survey states that with less than 5 percent of the world's population, the U.S. has approximately 35 to 50 percent of civilian-owned guns, and it ranks No. 1 in firearms per capita.