Firearm Laws Among States

According to the Small Arms Survey, the number of civilian-owned firearms in the US was 120.5 guns per 100 residents, meaning there were more firearms than people. The number was twice as much as the world’s second-ranked country, Yemen, whose number was 52.8 guns per 100 residents.

When we dig more detailed insight, however, each state has its own story to tell.

Number of deaths due to injury by firearms per 100,000 population, 2017

As we can see from this map, numbers vary among states. California (7.9), for example, is among the states with the lowest gun deaths rate. States in the southeastern part such as Louisiana (21.7), Mississippi (21.5), and Alabama (22.9, highest among all) hold nearly four times as much rate as California.

California is generally considered to have the strictest gun laws in the country. It has a comprehensive background check, including a 10-day waiting period before the firearm is released to the purchaser; it has really strong child access prevention laws, which makes it illegal for an adult to place a gun so that a child can easily access and fire it. It has banned assault weapons in the 1990s and continued to improve the law in the 2000s.

Compared with the national average, California does show its success in controlling gun-related deaths.

Number of deaths due to injury by firearms per 100,000 population, 1999-2017

Studies have repeatedly found that where gun laws are weaker, and where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths (including homicides and suicides). However, strict law doesn’t guarantee 100% safety. Different gun laws have different effects on different areas. For example, the 10-day waiting period is particularly effective for suicides; the assault weapons ban, however, isn’t that effective for homicides or suicides because assault weapons are rarely used in these cases. Instead, they are usually used in mass shootings. Even if we have the strongest gun laws, it is still hard to stop a killer from carrying lethal weapons from other states to California.

The next map records mass shootings that happened in California over the last decade(hover over to see what happened).

Source: List of shootings in California