By Anthony Kane, Maria Arcel and Christina Jensen.
Pitch: Is there a correlation between mass shootings and state gun laws?
Over the last few years it seems like there has been constant news regarding a new mass shooting occurring within the United States. As the U.S. presidential campaigns continue to pick up, gun control has been a hot topic throughout the debates, while constantly being discussed by officials.
http://www.easymapmaker.com/map/d161b7a6bf8bfae95f0b91245ccae94e
This story will discuss what states have what gun laws, while comparing it to where and when mass executions have occurred. Thus breaking it down if the there is a correlation between the two factors.
Sources to contact
Jeffrey Simon, expert at UCLA at who specializes in domestic terrorism and mass shooters.
Adam Winkler, professor of law and constitutional law specialist with an expertise on the Second Amendment.
Adam Lankford, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Alabama
NRA Spokesperson
Visualization
Our visualization will be a map that shows the number of mass shootings in the United States from 2000 to 2015. The map will be interactive so you can click on the dots and get information about the mass shooting; such as the date, number of fatalities, and number of injured people.
We will be using three colours representing the different state concealed-carry laws.
- unrestricted (no permit or licensing required, but there may still be regulations on where guns can be taken in public), shall issue and may issue.
- States require a permit for concealed carry. There, local authorities are given discretion as to whether to issue permits.
- State laws vary, from largely permissive to permits being difficult to obtain, unless the applicant provides considerable justification.
Description and link to data
The data shows the number of mass shootings in the United States from 2000 to 2015. The data is from Mother Jones’ Investigation.
US Mass Shootings, 1982–2023: Data From Mother Jones’ Investigation