Gun Laws Save Lives
At this point, the scale of Americas gun violence epidemic should be a surprise to no one. 2016 brought the worst mass shooting in our countrys history, with 102 people shot at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Chicago reported its most murdersover 700in 20 years. More than 20,000 people kill themselves with a gun every year, and over one million Americans have been victims of gun violence in the past decade.
Gun violence takes a number of different forms, and so do its solutions. No one policy will stop every shooting, but what we do knowbecause our research shows it, year after yearis that when taken in the aggregate, smart gun laws have a significant impact on public safety. They save lives.
The premise of the Law Centers annual Gun Law State Scorecard is simple. Our legal experts evaluate every states gun laws, assign grades, and compare those grades with the states most recent gun death rate.
Consistently, we see a powerful correlation: states with stronger laws have fewer gun deaths per capita while states with weaker laws have more gun deaths.
2016 brought increased public outcry over gun violence, as well as real progress at the state level, with a flurry of new gun laws passed, including ballot initiatives in three states. But, with 25 states scoring an F for their gun laws, clearly there is so much more work to be done. Use the map above to see how your state stacks up and learn about the steps your lawmakers can take to save lives in 2017.
http://gunlawscorecard.org/
Isn't it a strange coincidence that the states with the weakest gun laws, and the highest per capita gun deaths are almost all deep red, Trump-worshiping states? The right wing gun lobby (Koch Brothers, NRA/ILA, GOA, etc.) helped to steal the 2016 election with the threat of a "Second Amendment solution."
Resist with all of your strength and vote like the future of your country depended on it -- because it does.