Arizona earns an “F” in a new scorecard for state gun laws. The annual report from the gun safety organization, Giffords Law Center shows Arizona has the 14th-highest gun death rate in the country.
“What we find is that the states with the weakest gun laws tend to have higher gun death rates and the states with stronger gun laws tend to have lower gun death rates,” said Giffords Law Center policy director Lindsay Nichols.
The organization gives Arizona a failing grade because the state doesn’t have regulations like universal background checks for gun sales or requirements for safe storage to keep guns away from children. Neighboring California does have those types of laws and gets an “A” on its scorecard. Arizona’s rate of gun deaths per capita is more than double California’s rate.
“There is this pattern that emerges when you put that information side-by-side and it really indicates that gun laws matter. They matter and they do save lives,” Nichols said.
Arizona has gotten an “F” every year since the organization began the annual Gun Law Scorecards in 2010.
