American society keeps a lid on the number of deaths from guns and car accidents but not from mass shootings

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how society effectively regulates deaths from guns and car accidents but fails to contain the exponential growth of mass shooting fatalities, which could become the leading cause of gun deaths without intervention.

Contribution

It identifies distinct growth patterns in death rates from different causes and highlights the urgent need to address the exponential rise in mass shooting deaths.

Findings

Car and gun death rates follow logistic growth and are stabilized by legislation.

Mass shooting deaths are currently exponential and could surpass other causes without action.

Mass shootings constitute only 0.1% of gun deaths but are rapidly increasing.

Abstract

The number of deaths from car accidents and from the unlawful use of guns can be described by logistic growth curves. The annual rates of both have traced completed logistic trajectories following which they have been self-regulated for many decades at what seems to be a homeostatic equilibrium level through legislative actions. Exception constitutes the number of deaths from mass shootings, which has been so far tracing an exponential trajectory. Despite the fact that mass-shooting deaths represent only 0.1 percent of all gun deaths today, they are poised to continue growing exponentially until they become the major cause of gun deaths, short of unprecedented action by society.