Tiny nonprofit becomes foremost tracker of gun violence in U.S.: CNN

NEW YORK, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Gun Violence Archive, a tiny nonprofit that has for less than a decade attempted to log every single incident of gun violence in the United States in real time, has been gaining more and more influence, reported CNN on Monday.

"The organization has been cited by the Supreme Court, policymakers and media outlets like CNN primarily for its ongoing tally of mass shootings, which it defines as any incident in which four people are shot, excluding the shooter," said the report.

That increasing visibility is a sign of success for Mark Bryant, the executive director of the Gun Violence Archive. He started noticing the phrase "according to Gun Violence Archive" in news articles and Google searches a few years ago and sees it as a positive.

"We realize that we are making a difference. We're making the conversation consistent," he said. "If they're using 'according to Gun Violence Archive,' they're using consistent vetted data, and that legitimizes their story as much as it does us."

"That this bare-bones organization informs the highest levels of power underscores the startling lack of timely, standardized data on American gun violence," said the report.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation collects data on aggravated assaults and murders, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects data on total deaths from firearms. Yet both release that information months if not years after the fact, making it difficult to understand new trends or determine the impact of legislation or policies, it added.