CAP Action holding events across the nation to highlight report and call for action to strengthen gun laws
Read the full report here.
Read the fact sheet on Arkansas gun violence here.
Washington, D.C. — Arkansas has the ninth-highest rate of gun violence in the country, according to a new state-by-state analysis of gun violence released today by the Center for American Progress.
The report, released at a series of public events across the nation, examines how each of the 50 states fare across 10 key gun-violence indicators such as firearm deaths among children, firearm homicides among women, and law-enforcement agents feloniously killed with a firearm, among others. The analysis ranks each state according to the rate of each indicator of gun violence. These rankings are then compiled to create an overall aggregate ranking of the states across all 10 indicators.
The analysis finds that Arkansas:
- Had a rate of people killed by guns 50 percent above the national average in the 10-year period from 2001 through 2010
- Had the third-highest rate of aggravated assaults with a firearm in 2011
When the overall state ranking for the prevalence of gun violence is compared with a November 2012 Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence ranking of states based on the strength of their gun laws, the comparison reveals a significant correlation between high rates of gun violence and weak state gun laws. Key findings from the national comparison include:
- Arkansas exemplifies this trend by having the ninth-highest rate of overall gun violence and some of the weakest gun laws, ranking 15th-weakest in the country according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
- The 10 states with the weakest gun laws collectively have a level of gun violence that is more than twice as high—104 percent higher—than the 10 states with the strongest gun laws.
- Of the 10 states with the strongest gun laws, nine are among the 25 states with the lowest levels of gun violence, including 6 of the 10 with the very lowest levels.
To highlight the report, CAP Action principals are leading events in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Reno, South Bend, Tucson, and outside Philadelphia to discuss the report’s findings while standing alongside survivors of gun violence, mayors, law-enforcement officials, faith leaders, and students who will talk about why preventing future gun violence is important to their communities.
Read the full report: “America Under the Gun: A 50-State Analysis of Gun Violence and Its Link to Weak State Gun Laws” by Arkadi Gerney, Chelsea Parsons, and Charles Posner
Related Resources:
- “What the Public Really Thinks About Guns” by Margie Omero, Michael Bocian, Bob Carpenter, Linda DiVall, Diane T. Feldman, Celinda Lake, Douglas E. Schoen, Al Quinlan, Joshua Ulibarri, and Arkadi Gerney (CAP)
- “Blindfolded, and with One Hand Tied Behind the Back” by Winnie Stachelberg, Arkadi Gerney, and Chelsea Parsons (CAP)
- “Fixing Gun Background Checks” by Arkadi Gerney and Kendall Bills (CAP)
To speak with a CAP expert on this topic, contact Katie Peters at [email protected] or 202.741.6285.
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