I used to read Doonesbury regularly. Garry Trudeau had a unique way of looking at many of the world’s problems. One strip still sticks out in my mind: Duke, a character inspired by Hunter S. Thompson, was presenting his case for abolishing gun control before a Congressional hearing with the hypothetical question, “What if you came home and your wife started shooting at you? Wouldn’t you want to be in the position to return fire?”

While Duke’s logic is inherently faulty, it seems to be embraced by a larger number of U.S. citizens then ever before. Let’s look at the figures.

According to a recent article in Time magazine (Dec. 15, 2012), there have been at least 62 mass shootings in America since 1982. (The FBI uses several criteria to determine if a gun crime is a mass shooting, but the main criterion is at least four dead, not including the shooter.) That equates to two a year, except it doesn’t — not really. Twenty-five of those shootings have happened since 2006. More than six shootings a year on average. In fact, in 2012, there were seven mass shootings across the country with a total of 151 victims.