Survey: Americans Think Most Gun Deaths are Murders (They’re Not)

Poll casts light on misinformation surrounding guns

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans think that homicides or mass shootings, rather than suicide, are the leading causes of gun deaths in the United States, a new survey shows.

These results cast light on yet another way that Americans are dramatically misinformed about gun deaths, in turn reflecting poorly on the state of the political discourse surrounding guns. Fewer than one in four respondents correctly identified that suicide accounts for the majority of gun-related deaths.

The new survey was conducted by APM Research Lab, the research arm of public-radio distributor American Public Media. In July, two weeks before the mass shootings that left dozens dead in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, APM Research Lab surveyed 1,009 U.S. adults about their views on gun violence and gun control.

Respondents were asked whether suicides, mass shootings, "murders other than mass shootings," or "accidental discharges" were "responsible for the most gun deaths in the United States." The most popular answer, offered by more than 30 percent of respondents, was non-mass homicides; another quarter said mass shootings, while 23 percent said suicide.

These views, however, are massively out of line with the real numbers.

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