Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence Releases State Grades

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence releases it's grades for 2005. Each state is graded according to their restrictions upon the Second Amendment.

Let's examine the grades shall we?

Does the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and their grading system seem fair and appropriate? Do their higher grades such as A- and B+ apply to states with lower levels of rape, robbery and murder?

Major gun control legislation has been around since the National Firearm Act of 1934, which placed high taxes, transfer fees and prohibitions on machine guns and short barreled shotguns.
With seventy-two (72) years of major gun control legislation in the United States, one would think that by now, the states with the most restrictions upon firearms, would have the lowest overall rates of violent crime.

THAT IS OF COURSE IF VIOLENT CRIMINALS OBEYED SUCH LAWS...

Below, is the rank of the most violent states in the United States, (including Washington D.C.). I have ranked the states according to their per capita rate of overall violent crime and to the right of the state's name, I have listed their Brady Campaign letter grade.

1.) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA B
2.) SOUTH CAROLINA D+
3.) FLORIDA F+
4.) MARYLAND A-
5.) TENNESSEE D+
6.) NEW MEXICO F
7.) LOUISIANA F
8.) ALASKA F+
9.) NEVADA D
10.) DELAWARE C
11.) CALIFORNIA A-
12.) ILLINOIS A-
13.) TEXAS D-
14.) ARIZONA D
15.) OKLAHOMA D-
16.) ARKANSAS D
17.) MISSOURI D+
18.) MICHIGAN D+
19.) MASSACHUSETTS A-
20.) GEORGIA D
21.) NORTH CAROLINA C
22.) NEW YORK B+
23.) ALABAMA F
24.) PENNSYLVANIA D+
25.) KANSAS C-
26.) COLORADO D
27.) NEW JERSEY A-
28.) WASHINGTON D+
29.) OHIO D-
30.) INDIANA D
31.) NEBRASKA B-
32.) OREGON C-
33.) MISSISSIPPI F
34.) MONTANA F
35.) CONNECTICUT A-
36.) VIRGINIA C-
37.) WEST VIRGINIA D
38.) IOWA C+
39.) MINNESOTA C-
40.) HAWAII A-
41.) RHODE ISLAND B-
42.) IDAHO F+
43.) KENTUCKY F
44.) UTAH D-
45.) WYOMING F
46.) WISCONSIN C+
47.) SOUTH DAKOTA D
48.) NEW HAMPSHIRE D-
49.) VERMONT D-
50.) MAINE D-
51.) NORTH DAKOTA D

Let's take a moment to look as these shall we. Of course the reader can draw their own conclusions.

THE TEN STATES WITH THE LOWEST PER CAPITA RATE OF VIOLENT CRIME ARE RATED BY THE BRADY CAMPAIGN AS FOLLOWS: (3 Fs) (6Ds) and (1C).

THE TEN STATES WITH THE HIGHEST PER CAPITA RATE OF VIOLENT CRIME ARE RATED BY THE BRADY CAMPAIGN AS FOLLOWS: (4 Fs) (3Ds) (1C) (1B) (1A).

I want the reader to play very close attention to the very bottom of the list. The five safest states in which to live in the United States have almost no gun control laws. In Vermont for instance, ranked 49th in violent crime, a twenty-one year old can carry a concealed firearm without even a permit.

Of the five lowest states in violent crime, they are all either "Shall Issue" concealed carry states or unrestricted concealed carry states.

Of the five highest states in violent crime, one has denied concealed carry altogether, one has very restricted concealed carry and three are "Shall Issue" states.

The states with the highest restrictions upon the Second Amendment's protection of private firearm ownership are not ranked in the lowest levels of violent crime.

For example the states with the highest Brady Campaign Score of A- are ranked 4th, 11th, 12th, 19th, 27th, 35th and 40th in rates of violent crime.

The states with the lowest Brady Campaign Score of F are ranked 6th, 7th, 23rd, 33rd, 34th, 43rd and 45th.

So as we can see there's no correlation between a highly restrictive state and a very low violent crime state.

In fact, one may even loosely draw the conclusion that it's safer to live in a state with fewer and less restrictive gun control laws.

As for myself, living in Maine, ranked fiftieth (50th) in violent crime and ranked a paltry D- by the ineffective Brady Campaign, I'll take the D- grade and be very happy with it.
Marc Richardson

http://www.savetheguns.com/