Sandy Hook Tragedy Spikes Web Searches for 'Gun Control' More Than Past Shootings

More than the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords in 2011 and the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting during the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" earlier this year, the tragic murder of 26 people last week at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut has spurred Google searches for "gun control."

Using the Google's Trends feature, you can see how the search terms "gun control" in the United States has spiked in light of recent events.

Here's a look at the chart:

(Image: Google Trends)

Gizmodo pegged what recent events happened since 2004 that caused more minor spikes in its image.

(Image: Gizmodo)

You can also see how regional interest about gun control has been searched over time using Google's interactive feature on its website. As a quick comparison though, here's what searches for gun control looked like in 2004 compared to the most recent metrics:

Searches for "gun control" by region using Google in 2004 (left) and the last few months of 2012 (right). (Image: Google Trends)

The top related searches include "gun control laws," "gun laws," "Obama gun control, "gun control debate" and "gun control against."

Check out Google Trends' full account of Web interest about "gun control" from 2004 to present to use the interactive features here.

Related:

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• Obama Taps Biden to Lead Task Force Charged With Creating Gun Control Policy
• 'The Sandy Hook Effect': Something Remarkable Is Happening With Gun Sales and Stocks