Some people attribute the incidence of gun-related crime in America to backward or insensible gun laws, but the data do not bear this out. Indeed, up until 2020, fewer Americans were dying as a result of gun violence. Indeed, this was the continuation of a trend that began about three decades earlier. Contrary to the popular misconception that America has become more and more violent over time, the data suggest that, up until 2020, it had actually become considerably safer. However, this is not the only story in the data. Indeed, there's a far more interesting tale to tell. Before we get there, let's start with the facts. First, let's settle the debate on whether America has actually become a more violent place over recent decades. Fortunately, the facts are indisputable. As it turns out, the number of privately-held firearms and the incidence of gun-related homicides (both expressed by percentage change over that period) had managed a near-symmetrical divergence over the p