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BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Contact: Peter Hamm, 202-898-0792,
phamm@bradymail.org 
BRADY CAMPAIGN STATE SCORECARDS: MOST
SCORES REMAIN LOW DESPITE RENEWED PUSH FOR STRONGER GUN LAWS
Washington, D.C. - Most states have weak
or non-existent gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market,
allow the sale of guns without Brady background checks and
put families and children at risk, according to the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. But more and more states
are pushing legislation to strengthen their gun laws. The
organization's 2008 state scorecards, which rate each state
on the strength of its gun laws, are being released today
for all 50 states.
"Once again, the scores for most states
are abysmal. Most people don't realize how few laws we have
on the books restricting easy access to guns. As a result,
we continue to make it too easy for dangerous people to get
dangerous weapons," says Paul Helmke, President of the Brady
Campaign. "We need tougher federal laws, but action at the
state level can halt gun violence and pave the way for common
sense federal gun laws."
No states got a better score for 2008
than for 2007. Five states saw their scores drop: Florida,
Georgia and Louisiana for passing laws forcing employers to
allow employees to bring guns into workplace parking lots,
and two states, West Virginia and Wyoming, for passing so-called
"Shoot First" laws that authorize deadly force in public against
a perceived threat even if ways to avoid the threat are available.
The scores range from a mere two points
out of a hundred - in Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma - to
a score of 79 for California. Other high scores include those
for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York.
The Brady Campaign is seeing a marked
increase in the number of states pushing for stronger gun
laws. State lawmakers across the country are ramping up efforts
to pass new legislation on gun violence prevention, following
nearly a decade during which gun advocates dominated state
houses. Much of the proposed legislation focuses on cutting
off easy gun access to convicted criminals and the dangerously
mentally ill and on improving methods to trace guns used in
crimes.
Last year, the Brady Center to Prevent
Gun Violence identified 52 bills it considers a priority for
passage in 22 states, compared with 30 such bills two years
ago. The Brady Campaign expects even more states to make the
push for stronger gun laws during 2009 state legislative sessions.
In sharp contrast, the gun lobby proposals to force guns on
college campuses and in the workplace are being met with limited
or little success. Last year, the NRA lost in all 17 states
where they introduced legislation to force guns on college
campuses. It is presumed that the gun lobby will again try
to push both pieces of legislation.
The Brady Scorecards are designed so
that states can score up to 100 points across five major categories
of laws: Curbing Firearm Trafficking; Strengthening Brady
Background Checks; Child Safety; Banning Military-style Assault
Weapons; and making it harder to carry Guns In Public Places.
The national state-by-state scores are available in complete
category-by-category detail at www.bradycampaign.org.
Weak state gun laws create a dangerous
combination of risk: they don't require Brady background checks
for every gun purchase and they don't take other actions to
effectively combat gun trafficking. For example, states like
Arizona, Kansas, Florida, Missouri and Texas don't check the
background of every gun purchaser, thus making it easier for
felons and other prohibited purchasers to get guns, and they
also have no laws on the books to effectively combat trafficking
in illegal guns. As a result, they make it a lot easier for
dangerous people to access guns.
The categories covered by the 2008 scorecards
are as follows:
-
States can earn up to 35 points by
taking all measures needed to "Curb Firearm Trafficking."
States can fully regulate the gun dealers within their
borders, limit bulk purchases of handguns, provide police
certain technology to identify crime guns, and require
lost or stolen guns to be reported to the police.
-
States can earn up to 25 points by
"Strengthening Brady Background Checks." This involves
requiring background checks on all gun sales and requiring
a permit in order to purchase firearms. Short of universal
background checks, states can also close the gun show
loophole, at least requiring background checks for all
gun show sales.
-
States can earn up to 20 points by
"Protecting Child Safety" when it comes to guns. States
can require that only childproof handguns be sold within
their borders, require child safety locks to be sold with
each handgun, hold adults accountable for keeping guns
away from kids and teens, and require handgun purchasers
to be at least 21 years of age.
-
States can earn up to 10 points by
"Banning Military-style Assault Weapons," as well as banning
high-capacity ammunition magazines.
- States can earn up to 10 points by
making it harder to carry "Guns In Public Places" (except
for trained law enforcement and security) and by allowing
localities to "Preserve Local Control" over municipal gun
laws. This includes keeping guns out of workplaces and college
campuses, not forcing law enforcement to issue concealed
handgun permits on demand, not permitting "shoot first"
expansions in self-defense laws, and not preventing municipalities
from passing their own gun laws.
Acknowledgements and thanks go to the
Legal Community Against Violence for their research on state
gun laws. Their publication, "Regulating Guns in America,"
and website served as a basis for these scorings. For more
information about Legal Community Against Violence, see www.lcav.org.
As the nation's largest, non-partisan,
grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence,
the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million
Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun
laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign
is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence,
where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work,
and in our communities.
For continuing insight and comment
on the gun issue, read Paul Helmke's blog at www.bradycampaign.org/blog/.
Visit the Brady Campaign website at
www.bradycampaign.org.
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