10 states with the most gun violence

[Peacetrain]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the General Discussion forum).

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-states-with-the-most-gun-violence-2015-06-30?siteid=yhoof2

Guess what.. they are mostly red states and by far not the most populous states (common sense would suggest that the more population, the higher the gun risk..but not so)... why am I not surprised..

Edit to add some of the article: and edit to acknowledge NM is not a red state

More than two-thirds of all homicides in the U.S. are gun-related. Of the 16,121 homicides reported in 2013, 11,208 were caused by gun violence. Including suicides, nearly 34,000 people died in gun-related incidents in 2013, up 13.8% from 10 years earlier. While federal gun laws are uniform across the country, state regulations vary, offering more lax or more strict approaches to firearm use. Seven of the 10 states with the most firearm deaths in 2013 have enacted stand your ground laws. In fact, none of the states with the most gun violence require permits to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Gun owners are also not required to register their weapons in any of these states. Meanwhile, many of the states with the least gun violence require a permit or other form of identification to buy a gun. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) keeps track of the number of gun-related deaths in each state. Fatalities include homicides, suicides, and accidents. The frequency of firearm-related deaths varies considerably across the country. In Hawaii, the state with the fewest gun-related fatalities, there were just 2.6 firearm-associated deaths per 100,000 people. In Alaska, on the other hand, there were nearly 20 gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents, the most of any state.

The states are:
1. Alaska
2.Louisiana
3. Mississippi
4. Alabama
5. Montana
6. Arkansas
7. Wyoming
8. Oklahoma
9. New Mexico
10. Tennessee

[NaturalHigh]

1. I was going to read, but the link locked up my computer.

Can you give us a hint at the states?

[Peacetrain]

2. Hang on.. let me go and write them down... brb

[bigwillq]

3. Tenn, Oklahoma, Alaska, New Mexico

Are some of the 10

[Peacetrain]

5. Got the names in the OP now

[NaturalHigh]

8. Thanks Peacetrain.

[joeybee12]

4. Am I the first to note that Alaska is the home of the Flailin Palins...

Surprised there aren't more gun-related deaths with all their drunken brawls.

[Peacetrain]

6. Yeppers!

[Blue_In_AK]

25. I understand the humor,

but the vast majority of gun deaths in Alaska are suicides, which is no joking matter.

[TexasProgresive]

7. gooolllyyy! I am embarased.

Texas is not in the top 10. According to some of my fell Texans were supposed to be #1 in everything. I guess they will have to get to work of this situation. For those who don't get it-

[Peacetrain]

10. ROFL!!

I know what you are talking about.. being in western Iowa.. sometimes its hard to get across to people what being a liberal in a conservative area is like..You have to have backbone to stand alone.. and know everyone around you is not a crazy tea party person..

[TexasProgresive]

17. I was looking a a WIKI on gun deaths

in 2010 Texas was 2nd to California in total murders and murder by gun. Now this total not per 100,000 population.
According to this WIKI article in 2010 the highest murder by gun per 100,000 was D.C. followed by Delaware. Now this statistic is not gun violence but gun murders so apples and oranges.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States_by_state

[Sancho]

11. Maybe in Texas they shoot at each other the most...

but they miss a lot!!

[TeddyR]

9. I think if you take out suicides

And focus only on gun-related murders then you'll see a change. Here's a link to a 2010 chart -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/gun-homicides-ownership/ - showing that the District of Columbia had the highest rate of firearm murders per 100k people. Firearm homicides in Michigan and Pennsylvania are on par with (or exceed) those in states like Texas, Virginia and Georgia. Wyoming and Alaska had much lower firearm homicide rates than many other states.

[B2G]

12. I would be interested to see this broken out by city as well. nt

[jeff47]

19. I don't know that just taking out the suicides would be correct

One of the reasons most non-gun suicides fail is they give the person a chance to change their mind and seek help. For example, it takes a while to bleed to death from slitting your wrists, or to die from an intentional drug overdose.

So I don't think it's accurate to just take out gun suicides as "people who would die anyway". It's a lot more complicated to tease out who would successfully kill themselves and who wouldn't.

[TeddyR]

38. I'm not suggesting

It would be correct to exclude suicides, just noting that when you do exclude suicides then the rates of gun violence are not concentrated in "red" states or states with liberal gun laws.

[DustyJoe]

13. My state for 60 years

New Mexicos distinction as the Mexican drugrunners super highway corridor (I-25/I-40) intersecting in Albuquerque unfortunately fuels a very high shooting rate. It's not racial with the 60/40 Hispanic/Gringo ratio. But, the drugs, drug gangs running through the state unchecked has taken its toll. The pullback of drug interdiction under the guise of illegal immigrant relaxation has given the green light to the drug cartels that now flood the state. This is not an immigration, humanitarian or refugee problem. It is criminal drug cartels running unchecked through a porous border and lax drug laws. Shameful for such a small, racially well integrated state to be on the list.

[KamaAina]

14. Actually, most of the states on the list are small

perhaps rural areas have higher per capita rates of gun violence than urban ones, which would explain Texas' surprising absence.

[hack89]

29. Rural and poor states have high suicide rates

that is why Alaska is at the top of the list. Their murder rate is actually middle of the pace and the same as California.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state#MRord

[krispos42]

15. This list could also substitute for...

... States with high poverty rates, low education levels, high teen pregnancy rates, and low social services.

I'll bet a nickel that they are also tops in non-gun violence, too.



Treating violence as a hardware issue (gun issue) fails to stop crime, but puts Republicans in charge and prevents is from the deep reaching social fixes that not only lower violence but also lift people up.

[Arugula Latte]

16. All red states with the exception of NM.

Big surprise.

[central scrutinizer]

18. simple problem to solve

The Republicans will forbid the CDC from collecting and publishing this data. Ignorance is bliss. This is why the Surgeon General nomination was held up for so long.

[LittleBlue]

20. Doesn't look reputable. The numbers say they're the least violent states

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States_by_state

Sort by gun murders per capital. The highest gun ownership states are near the bottom. Alaska is in the bottom half

[TexasProgresive]

21. According to the original article on 247wallst.com suicide is the leading cause of gun deaths.

The listing is lumping all gun deaths accidental, suicide and murder.

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/06/10/10-states-with-the-most-gun-violence/
Snip: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) keeps track of the number of gun-related deaths in each state. Fatalities include homicides, suicides, and accidents.

Snip:Suicide is the leading cause of gun-related deaths across the country in recent years. Of the 33,636 firearm deaths in 2013, more than 21,000 were suicides. In fact, suicide accounted for more than half of gun-related deaths in all but one state with the most gun violence. In three states — Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming — suicide accounted for more than 80% of all firearm deaths.

[pinto]

31. Yeah, that works out to 62% of all gun-related deaths.

And it may be of note that Alaska, Montana and Wyoming all have long, dark winters.

[TexasProgresive]

32. Dark winters- that was my thought as well. n/t

[Herman4747]

22. New Mexico is not a red state...

...it went for Obama in 2012 and 2008.
Nonetheless, the other 9 states on the list are red states.

[Blue_In_AK]

23. Many gun deaths in Alaska are suicides,

according to one report I read, nearly 80%.

This is an article from last year, but I would assume the statistics are still comparable.

http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/alaska-ranks-among-states-with-highest-gunrelated-deaths/26575652

The study took into consideration the state’s 126 gun-related deaths in 2011 which included 19 homicides, 99 suicides as well as eight unintentional deaths, according to the study.

This isn't really the Wild West up here, just a place with a lot of alcoholism where suicide sometimes seems like the only solution. It's a complicated issue.

[beevul]

24. Misleading.

The actual states listed are "highest rate" not "most gun violence".

Those are two very different things.

[Major Nikon]

27. Perhaps to some, but it's hard to imagine it being that many

"most gun violence" per capita is pretty much understood when you're ranking states. Otherwise California and Texas would always be at the top simply by virtue of population.

[orpupilofnature57]

30. People will do that with statistics, mom always said .

[TexasProgresive]

33. My Mom was a gifted mathematician who got a C in a required statistics course

She hated the subject and would reference the following:

Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review

[orpupilofnature57]

37. Good one !!!!

[NCTraveler]

26. Something is wrong here.

As a Floridian, I like my state to be number one in all things shitty.

[orpupilofnature57]

28. 20 Per 100,000 puts them at the top of the list ? First Death by Cop isn't on the list, second where

is Florida, Texas, Arizona on the list ? It makes sense the " Stand your ground " states are up there .

[EX500rider]

35. Cops don't kill enough people to be statistically significant.

And "Stand Your Ground" also has not been a leading cause of gun violence.

Suicides followed by gang/drug related shootings are top of the list.

[napi21]

34. I have to say I'm very surprised.

All the places that always seem to be in the news for shootings are NOT on that list! Ill. ((think Chicago), NY (NYC), MD (Baltimore). II wish this info would be more publicized because if I didn't know it, and I try to keep up on all things political, I'd bet lots of other people never heard this info either.

[EX500rider]

36. Because they included suicides.

Ranking of gun homicides are thus:

Top 10:
District of Columbia
Louisiana
Missouri
Maryland
South Carolina
Delaware
Michigan
Mississippi
Florida
Georgia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States_by_state

[DonViejo]

39. Locking...

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