A look at gun violence in America

The U.S. is one of the few countries where the right to bear arms is protected constitutionally, but a rash of mass shootings and gun-related incidents in recent years have created concern around the United State's relationship with guns. Compared to other developed nations, the U.S. stands out as the most violent, which some believe is a result of easy access to firearms.

According to the Small Arms Survey by The Guardian, the U.S. has the most firearm homicides per person, with 29.7 gun-related homicides per every million people in the United States. Australia has the least amount of firearm-related deaths, with only 1.4 per every million people in the country.

While the U.S. only holds 4.4 percent of the global population, the country is responsible for almost half of the world's civilian-owned guns.

Additionally, since the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, there have been at least 864 other mass shootings in the U.S., information that came from a Mass Shooting Tracker that serves as a crowdsources database that has tracked shootings since 2013.

Despite these statistics, mass shootings only make up a small portion of the United States' firearm deaths, which came out to be about 32,000 deaths in 2013.

The Washington Post recently highlighted the fact that the U.S. hasn't gone more than eight days without a mass shooting in the U.S. since the start of 2015. As a country, the U.S. has averaged exactly one mass shooting per day since the start of the year.

It's clear, though, that states with more guns have more deaths by guns. Wyoming, for instance, is at the top of the list, with slightly more than 60 percent of households owning guns.

The recent shooting of the reporter and cameraman in Virginia may have seemed like a random act of violence based off of personal interactions, but in reality, between 30 and 40 percent of households in Virginia own guns.

Gun violence and gun control isn't an issue that only needs to be looked at when these shootings occur. It has become a crucial and overarching issue in our country that happens to gain traction and create additional conversation every time one of these tragic shootings occurs.

See the gallery below for photographs of the events surrounding today's tragic shooting in Virginia:

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