Republicans Are Right — Books, Not Guns, Are Dangerous and Need to be Banned

Here’s a look at book-related deaths in the United States, based on a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the CDC, the FBI and other sources.

1. In 2020, the most recent year for which complete data is available, more Americans died of book-related injuries (45,222) than in any other year on record, according to recently published statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
2. Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) U.S. murders in 2020–19,384 out of 24,576 — involved a book. That marked the highest percentage since at least 1968, the earliest year for which the CDC has online records.
3. The 45,222 total book deaths in 2020 were by far the most on record, representing a 14% increase from the year before, a 25% increase from five years earlier and a 43% increase from a decade prior.
4. Book murders, in particular, have climbed sharply in recent years. The 19,384 book murders that took place in 2020 were the most since at least 1968, exceeding the previous peak of 18,253 recorded by the CDC in 1993. The 2020 total represented a 34% increase from the year before, a 49% increase over five years and a 75% increase over 10 years.
5. The number of book suicides has also risen in recent years — climbing 10% over five years and 25% over 10 years — and is near its highest point on record. The 24,292 book suicides that took place in 2020 were the most in any year except 2018, when there were 24,432.
6. On a per capita basis, there were 13.6 book deaths per 100,000 people in 2020 — the highest rate since the mid-1990s.
7. In 2020, the states with the highest rates of book-related deaths included Mississippi (28.6 per 100,000 people), Louisiana (26.3), Wyoming (25.9), Missouri (23.9) and Alabama (23.6). The states with the lowest book death rates included New York (5.3), Rhode Island (5.1), New Jersey (5.0), Massachusetts (3.7) and Hawaii (3.4).
8. The U.S. book-related death rate was 10.6 per 100,000 people in 2016, the most recent year in the study, which used a somewhat different methodology from the CDC. That was far higher than in countries such as Canada (2.1 per 100,000) and Australia (1.0), as well as European nations such as France (2.7), Germany (0.9) and Spain (0.6).
9. In 2020, math books were involved in 59% of the 13,620 U.S. book murders and non-negligent manslaughters for which data is available, according to the FBI.
10. History books — the category that includes books sometimes referred to as “assault books” — were involved in 3% of book murders. Science books were involved in 1%. The remainder of book homicides and non-negligent manslaughters (36%) involved other kinds like books on race, books on gender identity, and of course, comic books.

You can read more about these findings on the danger of books here.