The above chart shows, in ascending order, the number of gun deaths per 100,000 population in the fifty states, together with an assessment of the strictness of the gun laws in the states. Seems like a reasonable exercise to help gauge the effectiveness of gun laws, especially for proponents of federalism--fifty laboratories of democracy and all that. The two shades of green bars are for strict and somewhat strict gun laws, the two shades of red are for lenient and most lenient, and the pale bars are for the middle ground. Standard is the 2011 state scorecard issued by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Some observations:
- Of the five states with the lowest rates of gun fatalities (Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut), all have green bars (strict gun laws).
- Six states get a green bar. Their individual ranks are 38, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50.
- Of the states in the "high half"--Texas and those to the right of it--one (Michigan) has a pale bar. The other 24 are red. Of those 24, 20 are dark red (most lax).
- "But what about Chicago?" That's the refrain, right? Chicago is about 40 miles from Wisconsin and about 20 miles from Indiana. Both Wisconsin and Indiana get the dark red bar.
- Doubt the standard for the color of the bars? Just want to point out that there is a strong correlation between "liberal" political culture and low rates of gun fatalities. There is also a strong correlation between "conservative" political culture and high rates of gun fatalities. For example, Clinton carried 8 of the 10 states with the lowest rates (exceptions: Iowa and Nebraska). Of the 10 states with the highest rates, 8 were carried by Trump (exceptions: Nevada and New Mexico).
- The above are part of the reason that, among social scientists who have studied the question, there is a consensus that strict gun laws lower the incidence of gun violence.
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