Author: Sean Vanderaa

The definition of mass shootings varies, but research has found the U.S. has the most.

Reasons include high gun ownership, “cultural factors like individualism and fame-seeking, sensationalized media coverage, and gaps in mental health care and law enforcement,” said James Densley of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center.

According to two peer-reviewed studies:

U.S. mass shootings accounted for 73% of all incidents and 62% of all fatalities in developed countries from 1998–2019.

That study’s author wrote in February there were 109 U.S. mass shootings from 2000-2022 and 35 in comparable countries. The U.S. accounted for 33% of the population of the 36 countries, but 76% of the incidents and 70% of victim fatalities.

The U.S. had 30.8% of all mass shooters from 1966–2012, despite having less than 5% of the world’s population.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan made the U.S. claim after a mass school shooting Dec. 16 in Madison, Wisconsin, which he represents.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in June 2023 that eliminates paper license plates starting July 1, 2025.

The law, introduced into the Texas Legislature as House Bill 718, substitutes paper license plates with temporary metal license plates. 

State Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, introduced the bill because of an increase in the number of counterfeit paper license plates. 

Law enforcement officials estimated that more than 1.2 million fraudulent paper license plates were created in Texas in 2021. Investigators also estimated fake paper plates cost the state around $220 million from 2018 to 2021.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles began rolling out the changes in July 2024. Estimated costs range from $13.5 million to $21.5 million annually over the next five years but will be offset by a new $10 license plate fee.