The Violence Policy Center says based on 2021 CDC data Louisiana ranks second in the country for having a gun death rate of 28.42 per 100,000 people. VPC executive director Josh Sugarmann says Louisiana consistently ranks in the top every year.
“For the past five years, Louisiana has always been near the top for overall death rates, which include homicides, suicides and unintentional deaths,” said Sugarmann.
Sugarmann says Mississippi leads the nation in overall gun death rate, following by Louisiana, New Mexico, Wyoming and Alabama. He says all five states have weak gun violence prevention laws.
“In Louisiana, like many of the other states in the top five add very little beyond what the federal standards are for gun laws,” said Sugarmann.
Sugarmann says on the flip side, the states with the lowest gun death rates have strong gun laws that ban certain types of firearms, ban large capacity magazines and restrict sales and possession for certain individuals. He says local governments in Louisiana looking to reduce gun violence have their hands tied.
“There are a lot of cities, communities in Louisiana that would take further action to protect their citizens, but because Louisiana has what’s called a state firearm’s preemption they can’t do anything,” said Sugarmann.
Massachusetts leads the nation with a gun death rate of 3.54 per 100-thousand.
In Louisiana, household gun ownership is at 47%.
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