Statistics show steady drop in gun violence and murder

Each year, roughly 31,000 Americans die from guns.

CBS 6 news took a closer look at FBI statistics on gun violence.

The stats show some categories have declined by nearly 50 percent in the last 20 years.

As for the number of murders, they have dropped steadily from just under 15,000 in 2007 to under 12,700 in 2011.

The number of murders by firearms overall and the number of murders by handguns has followed a similar decline.

Weapons	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Total	14,916	14,224	13,752	13,164	12,664
Total firearms:	10,129	9,528	9,199	8,874	8,583
Handguns	7,398	6,800	6,501	6,115	6,220
Rifles	453	380	351	367	323
Shotguns	457	442	423	366	356
Other guns	116	81	96	93	97
Firearms, type not stated	1,705	1,825	1,828	1,933	1,587