People killed by guns in US sees nearly 30% rise in 2016, new CDC data reveals

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New data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that America saw a 28 per cent up-tick in gun violence in 2016 from the year before, in a developing trend that has seen tens of thousands more shootings a year.

The new data released shows that 155,000 people were shot in 2016, a 28 per cent increase from the gun deaths seen in 2015. That amounts to 34,000 more incidents of gun violence than seen in 2015, and 40,000 more gun violence incidents than in 2014.

“This new data shows that America’s gun death and injury rates rose for the second straight year in a row, after having remained relatively flat for more than a decade,” a blog post about the CDC data by the Giffords Law Centre, which advocates for gun control restrictions, says.

The report has been released as the United Sates continues a contentious debate about the availability of guns in the country, sparked by the bloody massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed on Valentine’s Day.

Since that shooting, student survivors of the shooting have come forward to advocate for gun control, and to threaten politicians who don’t vote for gun control reforms at the ballot box.

The increased national attention on the issue has led to some movement towards gun control reforms, especially at the state level where Republican governors of states with historically weak gun laws —like Vermont and Florida — have passed gun control measures.

The number of states with extreme risk protection order laws on the books — which allow family members and law enforcement to petition courts for the ability to remove guns from someone perceived to be a danger — have also doubled during this period.

In the first 10 weeks after the shooting, measures were passed in Florida, Vermont, and Maryland, and many more bills are pending in state legislatures. A similar measure was implemented in New York Sate as well, though it was not a bill signed into law.

The new CDC data also shows that the number of non-fatal shootings increased by 40 per cent, which is the largest jump in more than a decade.

Suicides comprised roughly 60 per cent of the shooting deaths in 2016, and gun violence among minors increased by 12 per cent. The gun death rate among black Americans also rose, by 11 per cent.