New gun laws took effect across several states on January 1, 2025, marking a significant shift in the nation's approach to firearms regulation. Everytown for Gun Safety, a leading advocacy group, recently ranked all 50 states based on the strength of their gun laws in relation to gun death rates. Alarmingly, the report identified 14 states as "national failures" on gun policy, with gun death rates two and a half times higher than the nine states recognized as national leaders in gun safety.
The nine states deemed leaders in gun safety include California, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Conversely, states such as Idaho, Mississippi, Arkansas, Montana, and Georgia were noted for having some of the weakest gun laws. The evaluation considered 50 key policies, encompassing background checks, red flag laws, gun storage requirements, and the prohibition of "stand your ground" and permitless carry laws.
California stood out with the strongest gun laws nationwide, followed by Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, and Connecticut. Massachusetts and Maine enhanced their policies by implementing stricter background checks, waiting periods, raising the minimum purchase age, and banning firearms in state capitols and demonstrations.
Despite their strong legal frameworks, some states like Illinois and Maryland experience relatively high gun death rates. Similarly, Nevada and New Mexico face high gun death rates despite their stringent regulations but also report above-average gun ownership.
In contrast, Louisiana and South Carolina have relaxed restrictions by permitting firearms in K-12 schools and allowing permitless carry. Colorado introduced a new law mandating that handguns stored in unoccupied vehicles must be secured in a hard-sided container out of plain sight.
The findings highlight that over 100 gun policies were enacted in 23 states in 2024. Everytown's report projects that if all states adopted the gun death rates of those with the strongest laws, nearly 300,000 lives could be preserved over the next decade.
“When you have good, strong gun policy, it saves lives," – Monisha Henley, senior vice president for government affairs at Everytown for Gun Safety
Gun-related incidents showed a decline in 2024, with 31,658 injuries and 40,887 deaths reported, including suicides, homicides, unintentional shootings, and over 500 mass shootings. Despite these positive trends, challenges remain as several states continue to broaden Second Amendment rights.
“Much to the dismay of gun control activists, Second Amendment rights were protected and expanded in a number of states in 2024." – John Commerford, interim executive director of the National Rifle Association's lobbying arm
The complexity of analyzing gun policy impacts is acknowledged by experts.
“It's difficult to do this kind of analysis and establish precise causation," – Robert Spitzer, professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York, Cortland
“But the analysis is pretty good, and it's consistent with past research." – Robert Spitzer
The anticipated reduction in gun deaths through strong policy enactment is a gradual process.
“I'm not going to say that it's like a light switch and that happened immediately, but like I think as we spend more time looking at what's happening in Massachusetts, looking at what's happening in Maine and Colorado, you will see a decrease in gun deaths.” – Monisha Henley
Leave a Reply