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Under the Gun

Under the Gun

Weak Gun Laws & High Levels of Gun Violence Go Together

Today, our colleagues at the Center for American Progress put out an important new study examining the relationship between a state’s gun laws and its rate of gun violence. Unsurprisingly, the states with the weakest gun laws tend to also be the states with the highest rates of gun violence.

Here are the ten states with the highest levels of gun violence:

  1. Louisiana
  2. Alaska
  3. Alabama
  4. Arizona
  5. Mississippi
  6. South Carolina
  7. New Mexico
  8. Missouri
  9. Arkansas
  10. Georgia

As both common sense and hard data indicate, 8 of these 10 states are among the 25 states with the weakest gun laws. Indeed, the 10 states with the weakest gun laws have more than double the rate of gun violence of the 10 states with the strongest gun laws.

On the flipside, states with strong guns have low levels of gun violence. The five states with the lowest levels of gun violence — New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Connecticut — are all among the ten states with the strongest gun laws.

Here’s a chart showing how all the states rank in term of gun violence:

To find out exactly where your state’s gun laws rank and where it ranks in terms of gun violence, please click HERE.

BOTTOM LINE: Gun violence prevention laws matter and they work. It’s time for Congress to act on strong gun violence prevention laws — especially universal background checks — so all Americans can be protected, no matter which state they live in.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

North Carolina Republicans propose ignoring the Constitution and establishing an official state religion.

Mike Huckabee: President Obama planning a gun grab in order to establish Nazi-style dictatorship.

Head of gun organization says it’s “time to hunt Democrats.”

Another Tennessee bill goes after Muslims.

GRAPHIC: Adam Lanza’s terrifying home arsenal.

Yes, background checks will reduce crime.

GOP frets over South Carolina special election.

Sportsmen’s group comes out for universal background checks.

The GOP’s “shameful” plan to filibuster gun violence prevention laws.

 

 

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

Authors

Advocacy Team