The total number of concealed weapon permits granted in Florida until March 31 reached 2,158,447, the highest figure registered in any state in the country, the Department of Agriculture reported on its website.
This figure includes concealed weapon licenses granted to judges (767), retired prison and law enforcement officers (11,974) or active law enforcement (132,954) and school security officers (416), among other groups.
At a rate of growth of 17,500 gun license permits per month, Florida, with a population of 21.3 million, could surpass two million civilians with concealed weapon permit by summer.
Currently, the number of legal licenses granted to civilians to carry concealed weapons is 1,971,997.
According to data compiled by the Amnesty International organization for 2016, the United States leads all countries in the number of deaths (38,658) for this reason, both in per capita and absolute numbers.
On average, 106 deaths per day were recorded on US soil due to the use of firearms.
Of the total 38,658 deaths, 22,938 were suicides and 14,415, homicides, while the rest were classified as accidents (495), legal interventions (510) and indeterminate cases (300).
The report also shows that 1,637 children lost their lives due to firearms, of which 862 were victims of a homicide and 633 were recorded as suicides.
Last February, the House of Representatives of the United States Congress approved a bill that requires that the criminal record of gun buyers be verified for all gun sales, which makes it the most important legislative initiative of the last two decades in this ambit.
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, originally adopted in 1787, is the main argument favored by Americans favorable to bear arms, who consider that this measure is part of the national identity of the country.
However, the increase in mass shootings in recent decades has increased the flow of Americans who advocate greater regulation of access and use of firearms in the country.
A study by the Pew center dating from 2017 indicates that the number of weapons in the US is between 270 and 310 million, which makes it the country with more firearms per capita since four out of ten citizens recognize having one gun or live in a house with weapons.
