Louisiana, Nevada tops in per capita gun deaths

RENO, Nev. - Rural states in the South and West have the highest firearm fatality rates, with Louisiana and Nevada reporting nearly double the U.S. average of per capita gun deaths in 1996, an anti-gun group said.

Louisiana ranks No. 1 on the list, followed by Nevada, Alaska, Mississippi, Alabama, New Mexico and Arizona - findings that surprise many, the Violence Policy Center said.

"People may think gun violence is a big city problem, but it happens everywhere," said Susan Glick, a health policy analyst who authored the study for the non-profit center.

"Whether it's homicides, suicides or unintentional injuries, firearms take a surprising number of lives in every corner of America," she said.

Louisiana had 25.37 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 1996, the latest figures available from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Nevada had 22.38 per 100,000; Alaska, 21.21; Mississippi, 20.90; and Alabama, 20.05.

Twenty-seven states had firearm rates at or above the national average of 12.94 per 100,000, the Violence Policy Center said.

Among bigger states, Florida is 18th on the per capita list at 14.19, Texas 22nd, 13.64; California 24th, 13.29; and Illinois 28th, 12.94. New York is 44th with 8.48 firearm deaths per 100,000.

In terms of total numbers, California had the most firearm deaths in 1996, 4,088, followed by Texas, 2,616; Florida, 2,074; and New York, 1,428 - a total of 34,040 nationally, the study said.

The gun deaths include homicides (14,327 nationally), suicides (18,166), unintentional deaths (1,134) and deaths of undetermined intent (413).

The Violence Policy Center published the study "Who Dies? A Look at Firearms Death and Injury in America" in support of its efforts to bolster regulation of guns.

Glick said the regional trends are not that surprising given that gun ownership rates are much higher in the West and South than elsewhere.

"In reality, gun violence stems not from guns in the wrong hands, but the virtually unregulated distribution of an inherently dangerous consumer product," Glick said in a telephone interview from Washington.

"Guns are exempt from federal health and safety regulations. By identifying these trends, we move beyond the argument that gun violence is only a crime issue. It is a widespread public health issue," she said.

The National Rifle Association disagrees.

"The Violence Policy Center's political agenda is very well known - that is to deny folks the right to own a firearm," said Bill Powers, the NRA's director of public affairs.

"A gun in the hands of a law-abiding peaceful person is not a threat to anyone," he said from NRA headquarters in Vienna, Va. "Any weapon in the hands of a felon is a threat, whether it is a knife or a Louisville Slugger."

Powers said 80 percent of the violent crimes in the nation are committed by about 9 percent of repeat felons who are released from jail. That's why the NRA backs tougher sentencing laws for criminals, he said.

Nevada had 359 total firearm deaths in 1996 - 222 suicides, 128 homicides, 7 unintentional deaths and 2 of undetermined intent, the study said.

"It shows you what a high suicide rate we have," Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Thursday.

She said she expected Nevada's gun death rates to drop when newer numbers are available.

Overall homicides in Nevada fell 15 percent from 1996 to 1997, Del Papa said.

The number of overall homicides in Las Vegas fell from 168 in 1996 to 149 in 1997 and 123 in 1998, she said. Specific numbers on firearms were not immediately available, she said.

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