Dustin Barnes

The Clarion-Ledger

In addition to hospitality and humidity, Mississippi also is among the leaders in the nation for gun deaths, according to a report issued by a crime prevention advocacy group.

In fact, the Magnolia State has the second highest rate of gun deaths – at nearly 18 deaths per 100,000 residents – in the country, following neighbor Louisiana perched at the top of the list compiled by the Violence Policy Center.

The study found that states with weak gun violence prevention law and higher rates of gun ownership tend to have more gun deaths, while states with stricter laws and lower ownership, such as Rhode Island, have much lower rates of gun-related deaths.

In Mississippi, more than half of its residents own guns.

"Gun violence is preventable, and states can pass effective laws that will dramatically reduce gun death and injury," states VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann. "Our analysis also shows that states with weak gun violence prevention laws and easy access to guns pay a severe price with gun death rates far above the national average."

The group advocates for stronger gun legislation to help curb the violence and deaths in states.

Mississippi's gun death rate tops the national average – set at 10.38 gun deaths per 100,000 citizens – and the state's percentage dwarfs those from other countries, such as the Britain's 0.23 of every 100,000 and Australia's 0.86 deaths of every 100,000 citizens.

Rankings

Highest gun-death rates

State - Gun ownership rate - Gun-death rate (per 100,000 residents)



1 Louisiana - 45.6% - 18.91

2 Mississippi - 54.3% - 17.80

3 Alaska - 60.6% - 7.41

4 Wyoming - 62.8% - 16.92

5 Montana - 61.4% - 16.74

Lowest gun-death rates

State - Gun ownership rate - Gun-death rate

50 Rhode Island - 13.3 % - 3.14

49 Hawaii - 9.7% - 3.56

48 Massachusetts - 12.8% - 3.84

47 New York - 18.1% - 5.11

46 New Jersey - 11.3% - 5.46

Contact Dustin Barnes at dbarnes2@gannett.com or (601) 360-4644. Follow @DustinCL on Twitter.

State gun death rates are calculated by dividing the number of gun deaths by the total state population and multiplying the result by 100,000 to obtain the rate per 100,000, which is the standard and accepted method for comparing fatal levels of gun violence. The VPC defined states with "weak" gun violence prevention laws as those that add little or nothing to federal law and have permissive laws governing the open or concealed carrying of firearms in public.

State gun ownership rates were obtained from the September 2005 Pediatrics article "Prevalence of Household Firearms and Firearm-Storage Practices in the 50 States and the District of Columbia: Findings From the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2002," which is the most recent comprehensive published data available on state gun ownership.