Before getting into specifics about where America’s gun laws are too lax, it is important to understand the correlation between the number of guns in a country and the number of mass shootings.

Source: The New York Times (graphic); Adam Lankford, the University of Alabama (shooters); Small Arms Survery (guns).

Of the estimated 650 million civilian-owned guns globally, the United States is home to nearly half of them. Even though America’s population is only 5 percent of the global population, it is home to 31 percent of the mass shooters.

The New York Times graphic pictured to the left perfectly encapsulates the correlation between the number of guns in a country and their number of mass shooters. The U.S. is home to hundreds of millions more guns than the next closest country and dozens more mass shooters as well. It is hard to believe that all of these statistics are simply coincidental.

Are there ways we can combat the scourge of gun violence while still allowing Americans their right to bear arms? The answer is a resounding yes.

A whopping 95 percent of respondents to a Quinnipiac Research poll support universal background checks, effectively closing the gun-show loophole, which allows individual gun sales to bypass background checks. Another 91 percent support banning the sale of guns to people convicted of violent crimes. A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling in April found that 85 percent of gun owners support banning people on the federal terror watch list or no-fly list from purchasing guns.

These are some of the most obvious, broadly-supported gun control solutions. That these reforms have not happened yet despite overwhelming support is a testament to how powerful the gun lobby is in this country.

There is one policy that could be particularly effective in curbing mass shootings: a ban on assault weapons. The most famous of these weapons, the AR-15, was used in five of the last six deadliest mass shootings in the past six years (the Orlando shooter used a different assault weapon). It is basically the semiautomatic version of the M16, a weapon designed for warfare. Is it any surprise that this has become the weapon of choice for mass murderers in America?

The AR-15 is surprisingly accessible. In states like Florida, a 19-year-old like the Parkland shooter is unable to buy a handgun, but can purchase a semiautomatic rifle with no wait period. An assault weapon ban, which is supported by about 80 percent of Americans according to an NPR/Ipsos poll, could have prevented, or at least lowered the death toll, of some of our deadliest shootings.