We're Number Three!

La. tops gun death list, Alaska 3rd

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Louisiana has more gun-related deaths per capita than any other state, and Alaska isn't far behind.

That's according to the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Second on the list is Alabama, followed by Alaska, Mississippi and Nevada. The group said Wednesday that Hawaii has the fewest gun deaths per capita.

The study says that each of the states had a per capita gun death rate far exceeding the national rate of 10.32 per 100,000 for 2006. Louisiana's rate was 19.58 per 100,000, followed by 16.99 in Alabama, 16.38 in Alaska and Mississippi and 16.25 in Nevada.

The Violence Policy Center says each of the states with a high death rate has lax gun laws and higher gun ownership rates.

The nonprofit compiled its list by analyzing data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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On the Net:

http://www.vpc.org/press/0905gundeath.htm

http://www.vpc.org/fadeathchart09.htm