"Pro-Gun" States Lead Nation in Per Capita Firearm Death Rates New Violence Policy Center Analysis Reveals

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 (see chart below for top 10 states, for a ranking of all 50 states, please visit http://www.vpc.org/fadeathchart.htm). 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."

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.