With your opinion:
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-guns.artsep22,0,5706691.storyGuns And Deaths
September 22, 2008
News of shootings grabs so much attention in Connecticut that people might understandably wonder if it's even safe to walk to the mailbox. Federal data, however, show Connecticut has one of the lowest rates of gun-related violence of any state in the nation.
Not coincidentally, it also has one of the lowest rates of gun ownership and one of the best track records for gun control.
Using the latest available data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the group Connecticut Against Gun Violence reports the Nutmeg State had the fifth-lowest rate of gun-related homicides of any state in 2004 5.3 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with a national average of 10.3.
It also had the seventh-lowest rate of suicides involving guns, 8.4 per 100,000, compared with the national average of 11.1.
The percentage of Connecticut households owning guns was low. At slightly more than 18 percent, it's the sixth-lowest rate in the country. The national average was an astonishing 40.8 percent.
It shouldn't be too surprising that when more people own guns, there are more gun-related deaths. But the CDC's state-to-state comparisons drive that point home in a big way.
For example, Louisiana had the highest rate of gun deaths in the country, with 19 per 100,000. It also ranked in the top third of states for gun ownership. Alaska and Montana ranked second and third in gun-related deaths; they also have two of the highest rates of gun ownership.
The relationship is clear: People with ready access to firearms are more likely to use them.
But the solution isn't to ban guns. The solution is to establish reasonable laws and practices that encourage owners to use firearms safely and keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them.
Last session, lawmakers passed a bill requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms, closing a loophole long used by "straw buyers" to supply guns for the black market.
Next session, they're likely to consider legislation requiring microstamping technology for new semiautomatic handguns. Microstamping enables law enforcement officials to match bullet casings to the guns that fired them, an innovation that would help solve crimes.
Connecticut has some of the most effective gun-control measures of any state. Comparisons are of limited value, however, considering states have pretty abysmal records on gun control.
The most meaningful data have to do with public safety. It's proof that Connecticut is headed in the right direction, and that it needs to keep going.
