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Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023

Would stricter gun control be ineffective in Nevada because the US already has a lot of guns?


no

Different states have different levels of gun violence, and states with looser gun policies tend to have higher firearm mortality rates. This suggests strengthening Nevada’s gun laws would have at least some positive effect on gun safety.

Comparing each state’s gun death rate with its gun laws, Giffords Law Center found “an undeniable correlation between strong laws and low gun death rates” over the past decade. Authors did note that gun trafficking from states with weaker laws undermines gun safety in states with stronger laws.

Using a similar comparison, Everytown Research & Policy reported in January that “states with strong gun laws” such as background checks “see less violence,” but also noted that gun trafficking has a negative impact on gun safety, especially in big cities.

Nevada was given a C+ on Giffords’ 2021 scorecard, ranking 16 of 50 for gun safety strength and 18 of 50 for gun deaths at 17 per 100,000. Everytown ranked Nevada 18 of 50 on gun law strength with a worse-than-average gun death rate of 19.8 per 100,000.

See a full discussion of this at The Nevada Independent

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