For Release: Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Louisiana, Alaska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Alabama, Nevada, Mississippi, Montana, Arizona, and Arkansas Top List of Most Deadly States in the Nation
Washington, DC – Traditionally “pro-gun” states in the South and West lead the nation in overall firearm death rates according to a new analysis issued today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) of just-released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. The new VPC analysis uses 2003 data (the most recent available) from the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The analysis reveals that the top 10 states with the highest per capita gun death rates were Louisiana, Alaska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Alabama, Nevada, Mississippi, Montana, Arizona, and Arkansas. Each of the top 10 states had a per capita gun death rate of at least 15 per 100,000, far exceeding the national per capita gun death rate of 10.36 per 100,000.
| States With Highest Per Capita Gun Death, 2003 | |||||||
| Rank | State | Number of Gun Deaths |
Gun Death Rate per 100,000 | Rank | State | Number of Gun Deaths |
Gun Death Rate per 100,000 |
|
1 |
Louisiana | 847 | 18.84 | 6 | Nevada | 374 | 16.69 |
| 2 | Alaska | 120 | 18.50 | 7 | Mississippi | 477 | 16.56 |
| 3 | Wyoming | 89 | 17.76 | 8 | Montana | 145 | 15.80 |
| 4 | New Mexico | 326 | 17.39 | 9 | Arizona | 849 | 15.21 |
| 5 | Alabama | 765 | 17.00 | 10 | Arkansas | 413 | 15.15 |
VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann states, “All of these states pride themselves on being `pro-gun – but the numbers show that guns kill.”
About the Violence Policy Center
The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
