The number of firearm-related homicides in the U.S. increased by 31 percent from 2014 to 2016, according to a new analysis released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The number of firearm related homicides increased from 11,008 in 2014 to 14,415 in 2016, the CDC says, after being relatively stable from 2010 to 2014.

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The report examined the three most common methods of homicide, with firearms topping the list.

In 2016, the number of homicides involving firearms was about eight-times higher than those involving cutting and piercing, at 1,781, and 30-times higher than those involving suffocation, some 502 deaths.

The report offered no analysis of why the number of homicides involving firearms increased so dramatically between 2014 and 2016.

A rash of school shootings this year has put a spotlight on the CDC's ability to study the causes of gun violence.

The so-called Dickey amendment, passed in 1996, prohibits the use of federal funding to promote or advocate for gun control.

While Republicans argue the amendment doesn't block the CDC from studying gun violence, Democrats say it has created a chilling effect on research.

Congress clarified in a funding bill passed in March that the CDC can conduct research on gun violence.

However, experts are skeptical any progress will be made until Congress appropriates money for that research.