How strong are your gun’s safety laws?

“Wounded Virginia teacher walked her students to safety after she was shot by 6 year old.” – NBC

How did a six year old get a gun? What laws govern how guns should be stored? Who can get a gun? Do strong gun laws reduce the number of shootings and gun deaths? Which states have the most shootings? What is holding up gun safety law reform?

The correlation is undeniable: states with stronger gun laws have lower gun death rates. Simply put, gun laws save lives. But strong laws can’t fully protect a state if its neighbors haven’t done their part. Gun trafficking from states with weak gun laws undermines protections that work to prevent shootings and plays a major role in fueling violence in states with strong laws. Until every state in the union steps up to support gun safety laws, America will continue to have one of the highest gun death rates in the world.

This map uses data from the Gifford Law Center to show the strength of gun safety laws by state, how many people are killed and the elected leaders for that state. Check to see how your state ranks.

Gun Safety Laws by law

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6-year-old shoots teacher

The Virginia elementary teacher who police say was intentionally shot by a 6-year-old student is being hailed as a hero who saved lives by escorting her students out of the classroom while wounded. Abigail Zwerner was struck Friday while teaching her class, Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said Monday at a news conference.

“The 6-year-old child displayed a firearm, pointed it at her and fired one round,” Drew said. “There was no physical struggle or fight. She was providing instruction to her class.” The bullet went through the teacher’s hand and into her upper chest, “but she was still able to get all of her students out of that classroom,” he said. “She made … sure that every one of those students was safe.” While Drew said he did not know what was going through the boy’s mind prior to the shooting, he said the student purposely shot the 25-year-old teacher. – MSN

Child gun access prevention and safe storage laws

Comprehensive child access prevention and safe storage laws are an incredibly effective tool to curb gun deaths and injuries among children and teens. Unsecured guns pose clear safety risks, particularly to children. When guns are not stored safely or securely and they are accessible to unsupervised minors, the risk of death or injury significantly increases. Hundreds of thousands of firearms are also stolen from homes, vehicles, and individuals each year, funneling guns into an underground market where many of them are sold to people who use them to commit violent crimes. – Giffords Law Center

Gun violence in America

More than 200 Americans are non-fatally injured with a firearm every day.
The United States accounts for just 4% of the world’s population but 35% of global firearm suicides and 9% of global firearm homicides.
Gun homicides and assaults disproportionately impact historically underserved communities of color.
Black Americans are 11 times more likely than white Americans to be killed in a gun homicide. – Giffords Law Center

Resources

Giffords Law Center

Newton Action Alliance

Moms Demand Action

Be a Gun Sense Voter

Register to Vote

TakeAway: Vote for politicians who will strengthen gun safety laws.

Deepak
DemLabs

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