The Geography of Gun Violence

Last night's horror in Aurora, Colorado, once again confronts America with the senseless tragedy of gun violence. The debate over this country's relationship to guns will start all over again, and this time, in the middle of a presidential campaign.

The map below, by my colleague Zara Matheson at the Martin Prosperity Institute, charts the geography of gun violence across the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [PDF]. The data (from 2008, the most recent year available) include accidental shootings, suicides, even acts of self-defense, as well as crimes.

There were 10.3 deaths by firearms per 100,000 people in Colorado in 2008, exactly the same as the national average. Gun deaths were highest in Alaska (20.9 per 100,000) and lowest in Hawaii (3.1 per 100,000).

Last year, I took a deeper look at the the factors associated with gun deaths at the state level.