Columnist John Avlon says more Americans have been killed in the U.S. in a month than in Iraq and Afghanistan this year.

It’s a sobering subject to talk about. More Americans have been killed in mass shootings over the past month than have died in Iraq so far this year. 13 people were murdered in Binghamton, New York alone last Friday and three Pittsburgh police officers were shot dead by an alleged white supremacist who supposedly believed the Obama administration was coming for his guns. John Avlon, columnist for the Daily Beast, says we can't solve the problem if we don't keep track of the dead. Avlon spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s American Morning Friday.

Kiran Chetry: You started a running tally on the website the Daily Beast. You say keeping a tally is an important reality check. Please explain.

John Avlon: I think so often we cover the tragedy of these shootings and then we move on to the next thing and we don’t see it in the larger context. You can't understand this violence unless you see it in context. And when you realize that more Americans have been shot in mass murders this month than have been killed in the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan this year, that’s a sobering reality check. And it’s the kind of thing that can maybe help us face reality and then marshal our forces to change it.

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