Sep 20, 2025 5 min read

Every time a high-profile shooting makes headlines, America relives the same cycle: shock, outrage, and the inevitable chorus of demands to ban “assault weapons,” defund the police, blame political opponents, and spend more federal money in cities. But these slogans conceal more than they reveal.

The United States does have a serious violence problem. Yet the data show it is not one single problem. It is a collection of distinct problems, each with its own causes, patterns, and potential solutions. If we want to save lives, we have to start with identifying the facts.

In 2020, the most recent year with complete national data, there were 21,570 murders in the United States, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) database (FBI, 2020). Of those, 16,609, about 77%, involved a firearm. That represents a nearly 30% increase from 2019, the largest single-year jump in modern history (Centers for Disease Control, 2021). The rise has not fully receded; both 2021 and 2022 remained elevated (FBI, 2022).

But the violence is not evenly distributed.

Demographics: Young Black males are at far greater risk than any other group. In 2020, Black Americans made up 1% of the U.S. population but 60% of homicide victims (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2022).

Geography: Murders are highly concentrated. A handful of counties — Cook (Chicago), Harris (Houston), Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Wayne (Detroit), Maricopa (Phoenix) Shelby (Memphis), and Baltimore — account for a disproportionate share of deaths (Major Cities Chiefs Association, 2021). Most (52%) U.S. counties record zero homicides in a given year (Crime Prevention Research Center, 2017).

This means America’s murder crisis is not everywhere. It is specific communities, often already struggling with poverty, fractured families, weak institutions, and active drug markets.

If we look closer, the numbers divide into several categories:

Street and gang-related violence: about 6,500 deaths (National Gang Center, 2021).

Domestic violence: about 3,400 deaths (CDC, 2021; Everytown, 2021).

Drug-related violence: about 2,900 deaths (DEA, 2020).

Mass shootings: fewer than 600 deaths, but disproportionately feared (Gun Violence Archive, 2020).

Workplace and political violence: About 550 deaths though often headline-driving (NIOSH, 2020; START Global Terrorism Database).

School shootings: Only 24 deaths, though highly visible, emotional and tragic (Washington Post School Shooting Database, 2021).

These divisions and numbers are significant. They negate the myth of “one American gun violence problem.” Instead, we face several distinct crises, each demanding different solutions. A strategy that might work for mass shootings might not touch gang disputes. Policies designed for drug turf wars won’t prevent a jealous ex-boyfriend from killing a partner.

That doesn’t mean nothing works. It means we need precision, not platitudes.

Numbers can’t tell us everything, but they do show one truth: violence in America is multifaceted. The same headline that sparks calls for a new law may actually reflect very different dynamics than the shooting in an adjacent town.

Real solutions require that we examine how different kinds of violence connect to firearms, the limits of “more gun control” as a universal solution, and which strategies, from policing to prevention, actually save lives.

Not all violence is the same. Different types of violence involve different motives and different dynamics.

Street violence: gangs, drugs, and cycles of retaliation (National Gang Center, 2021).

Domestic violence: jealousy, control, and substance abuse (CDC, 2021).

Workplace violence: disputes and stress, sometimes spilling over from home (NIOSH, 2020).

Mass and school shootings: grievance, notoriety-seeking, untreated mental illness, alienation (Secret Service NTAC Report, 2019).

Political violence: ideology and extremism (START GTD, 2020).

Each motive points to different modes of prevention.

When the conversation turns to firearms, one fact stands out: handguns are the weapon of choice in American homicides. In 2020, nearly 60 percent of murders involved handguns (FBI, 2020). Rifles, including AR-15-style rifles, accounted for only about 3 percent (FBI, 2020 Expanded Homicide Table 8).

Yet rifles dominate media coverage, especially after high profile shootings. That focus obscures the larger reality: if the goal is reducing total homicides, banning rifles would barely dent the problem.

That doesn’t mean all gun regulation is useless. In fact, some targeted measures show promise:

Domestic violence: Firearm surrender (“Red Flag”) laws reduce intimate partner homicides (Zeoli et al., Annals of Epidemiology, 2017).

Mass and school shootings: “Red flag” laws and secure storage prevent access during a crisis (RAND, 2020).

Illegal trafficking: Stronger penalties for straw purchasers and better tracing can limit street supply (ATF, 2021).

But broader bans and restrictions often fall flat when it comes to street crime and drug-related killings, 48 percent of deaths, where most guns are obtained illegally (DOJ Firearm Source Study, 2019).

If we want meaningful reductions, other strategies may prove more effective:

Focused policing in hot spots and on repeat offenders (Braga et al., Criminology & Public Policy, 2019).

Community programs such as “violence interrupters” (Cure Violence Evaluation, 2017).

Stronger domestic violence enforcement, better court-police data sharing (National Institute of Justice, 2020).

Youth and family support that reduces long-term risk (Brookings, 2021).

Workplace threat assessments that catch dangerous patterns early (ASIS, 2020).

These are not slogans. They are strategies tested in cities from coast to coast.

America’s murder problem will not be solved by wishful thinking or one-size-fits-all bans. It will require tailoring solutions to the type of violence, focusing enforcement where it matters most, and investing in prevention at the family and community level.

We know many strategies bear positive results: focused policing, domestic violence protections, community trust, targeted gun laws, and youth support. The real obstacle isn’t knowledge. The obstacles are political will and local commitment.

Until leaders can look past slogans and confront the problem as it really is, concentrated, complex, and solvable, America’s violence problem will remain a talking point instead of a national project.

Dave Ball is the former chairman of the Washington County Republican Party.