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2013 State

Scorecard

Why GunLaws Mattera joint project of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Campaign

BECAUSE SMART GUN LAWS SAVE LIVES

LAW CENTER TO

PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE

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Since Newtown, so much has changed.

The slaughter of innocent children at Sandy Hook Elementary School sent shockwaves

through the nation and ignit ed a passionate call for our leaders to take steps to prevent gun

violence. When Congress failed to pass any new gun violence prevention legislation in 2013,including the overwhelmingly popular legislation to expand background checks, statelegislatures answered the call.

Starting last January, legislators in state houses across the country began introducing arecord number of bills to strengthen gun laws. Even states with historically weak gun

laws, like Florida, Missouri, and Texas, took action towards sensible gun legislation. In fact,

twenty-one states enacted new laws to curb gun violence in their communities, with

eight of these states passing major reformsfar eclipsing the corporate gun lobbys limitedsuccess in state legislatures in 2013.

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State gun laws fill enormous gaps that exist in our nationsfederal laws, and help to reduce gun violence and keep

citizens safe. In part because these laws help to keepguns out of the hands of dangerous people and aid law

enforcement in solving gun crimes, many of the stateswith the strongest gun laws also have the lowest gun

death rates.

Because state laws differ widely, the Law Center to

Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Campaign t o PreventGun Violence have teamed up to evaluate and

compare the laws of all fifty states, as they have bothdone in years past. Together, we have ranked all

fifty states based on thirty policy approaches to regulatingguns and ammunition, such as background checks on gun

sales, reporting lost or stolen firearms, and prohibitingdangerous people from purchasing weapons .2

States received points for having effective laws in eachpolicy area, with stronger laws receiving more points.

States lost points for irresponsible measures that increasethe likelihood of gun violence, such as laws that allow

individuals to carry loaded, concealed weapons in publicwithout a permit. Ultimately, every state was awarded

a letter grade indicating the overall strength or weaknessof its gun laws.

Because so many states enacted strong new laws in2013, several states received a higher grade than in past

rankings. Thanks to new laws enacted in 2013, six statesgrades improved compared to the Law Centers 2012

publication Gun Laws Matter.3

Gun laws really do matter.

A-A- A-A-

A-A-

A-A-

2013 State scorecard

B+B+ B+B+

B+B+

BB

B-B-

B-B-CC

CC

CC

C-C-

CC

C-C-

D+D+

DD

DD

DD

DD

D-D-

D-D-

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF FF

FFFF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF FF

FF

FF

FF

1

FF

The top 10 states with the

lowest gun death rate

The top 10 states with the

Highest gun death rate

CC

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Do gun laws work?

7 States

HAVE BOTH

7 States

HAVE BOTH

TOP 10 STATES WITH THE

strongest gun laws

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Strong gun laws are clearly associated with lower gun

death rates. Legislators should work to save lives in their

communities by fighting to enact sensible gun laws.

CALIFORNIA

CONNECTICUT

NEW JERSEYMARYLAND

NEW YORK

MASSACHUSETTS

HAWAII

ILLINOIS

RHODE ISLAND

DELAWARE

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

HAWAII

MASSACHUSETTS

RHODE ISLAND

NEW YORK

NEW JERSEY

CONNECTICUT

MINNESOTA

IOWA

CALIFORNIA

MAINE

HAWAII

MASSACHUSETTS

RHODE ISLAND

NEW YORK

NEW JERSEY

CONNECTICUT

MINNESOTA

IOWA

CALIFORNIA

MAINE

TOP 10 STATES WITH THE

Lowest Gun Death RateS

CALIFORNIA

CONNECTICUT

NEW JERSEYMARYLAND

NEW YORK

MASSACHUSETTS

HAWAII

ILLINOIS

RHODE ISLAND

DELAWARE

Strong Background check laws are the

first step to keeping guns out of the

hands of dangerous people.

In 2012, only two statesCalifornia and Rhode Islandhad laws that require background checks on

all gun sales at the point of purchase. Two additional statesMaryland and Pennsylvaniahad laws

that require point of purchase background checks on handgun sales only. In 2013, four more

statesConnecticut, New York, Delaware, and Coloradoenacted laws to protect the safety of their

communities with universal background checks on all firearms sales. 6

20122012 20132013

Five statesstrengthened regulation of unlicensedfirearms sales by requiring background checks on all gun

sales or improved the purchase permit process;

Four statesadded a requirement that owners report lostor stolen firearms to police;

Three states enacted laws to strengthen record-keepingand/or background check requirements for ammunition

sales;

Four statesstrengthened existing restrictions on

military-style assault weapons; and

Five states added or strengthened existing restrictions onlarge capacity ammunition magazines.5

Gun laws can make a real difference to public safety.

Seven states with the highest grades also have the lowestgun death rates nationwide. Conversely, many states with

the weakest gun laws have the highest gun death rates.While more research is needed to determine the precise

relationship, it is clear that the data supports the conclusionthat state gun laws and the rate of gun deaths are closely

tied.

State laws fill some of the most critical gaps in federallaw. One of the most dangerous gaps exists because the

federal Brady Law only requires background checks for sales

by a licensed gun dealer. Because of this, roughly 40% of allgun purchases do not require background checks, allowingdangerous people to skirt the law.4

When Congress failed to finish the job and expandbackground checks to cover these other gun sales in April

of 2013, many states passed life-saving legislation to protecttheir communities from gun violence.

These new laws are adding pressure to Congress to finish the job and expandbackground checks to cover all gun sales including o nline and at gun shows.

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A states gun laws also matter greatly

safety of residents in neighboring

The strength or weakness of a state

laws correlates to the number of crim

trafficked across state lines. This mea

example, that guns purchased in a

with weak laws are often trafficke

states with stronger laws where th

found at crime scenes.

A report published by Mayors A

Illegal Guns examined a number

state laws included in our rankin

found that states that had enacted

more of the laws to curb gun traf

exported fewer guns that later turn

at crime scenes in other states.6

They understand that solutions to the epidemic of gun violence are in their hands an

acting to keep their communities safe. Americans must continue to make their voices h

and demand stronger gun laws to protect public safety. The research demonstrates that s

laws canand dohelp keep our communities safe from gun violence.

After Newtown, the nation demanded stronger gun l

State legislators and governors have responded to the

Failing the Grade

24 of the 25 states that traffic the most crime guns to

other states per capita received grades of D+ or lower.

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Notes

1 The combined expertise of the Law Center andBrady Campaign informed our grading system.

Only states that have enacted several significant

firearms laws received enough points to receivea grade in the A range. The states in the B and C

ranges have enacted fewer laws, but do have someimportant gun safety measures on the books. The

D states have only a small handful of firearms

regulation while the F states have enacted little tono firearms regulation and, in many cases, have

lost points for irresponsible gun laws.

2

For an in-depth summary of the state firearmslaws in each state, visit http://smartgunlaws.org/

search-gun-law-by-state/.

3 The grades of six additional states have alsoimproved; however, in these states, the chang-

es were due to a re-weighting of the grading

scale that was done to reflect the importance ofrequiring background checks for private firearms

sales as opposed to other policies.

4 Philip J. Cook & Jens Ludwig, Guns in America:

National Survey on Private Ownership and Use

of Firearms,U.S. Department of Justice, NationalInstitute of Justice Research in Brief 6-7 (May

1997).

5 Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, and NewYork added laws requiring background checks

for all gun sales. Illinois enacted a law requir-

ing unlicensed firearms sellers to verify thatthe potential purchaser is the holder of a valid

permit before making a transfer. Delaware, Illinois,Maryland, and New York enacted laws requiring

gun owners to report the loss or theft of their fire-

arms to law enforcement. California, Connecticut,Maryland, and New York strengthened existing

bans on military-style assault weapons. Califor-

nia and New York strengthened existing laws

banning large capacity ammunition magazinesand Connecticut, Colorado, and Maryland enacted

new bans.

6 An additional eight states require backgroundchecks for unlicensed firearms sales by requir-

ing a permit to purchase. The potential purchaser

must successfully undergo a background checkto obtain the permit. These permits vary great-

ly. Some states require permits only for handgun

sales while others require permits for all firearms.Permits also vary in duration, from 10 days to as

much as 10 years. Illinois improved its permitting

system in 2013 by requiring unlicensed firearmssellers to verify that the potential purchaser is the

holder of a valid permit before selling the firearm.

7 Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Trace the Guns:The Link between Gun Laws and Interstate Gun

Trafficking (Sept. 2010).

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The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

is a non-profit organization dedicated to

ending the epidemic of gun violence in

America. The Law Centers trusted and

in-depth legal expertise, analysis, and

comprehensive tracking are relied upon by

the media, legislators, and advocates from

across the country.

Formed in the wake of the July 1, 1993

assault weapon massacre at a law firm

in San Francisco, the Law Center is

now the premier clearinghouse for

information about federal and state

firearms laws and Second Amendment

litigation nationwid e.

For more information, visit our website:

smartgunlaws.org or call 415.433.2062.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun

Violence works to pass, enforce, and

protect sensible laws and public policy

that directly addresses gun violence at the

federal and state level. We do this by

engaging and activating the American

public to hold our elected officials account-

able to represent the will and best interestsof the American people, and to elect offi-

cials who support common sense gun laws.

Through our advocacy campaigns and

Million Mom March and Brady Chapters,

we work locally to educate people about

the risks associated with gun ownership, to

engage victims and survivors of gun

violence to share their stories, to hold

Congresspeople accountable in their local

districts and to pass sensible local and state

gun laws.

For more information, visit our website:

BradyCampaign.org or call 202.898.0792.

December 2013 by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

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