INDIANAPOLIS — Every 12 hours someone is killed by a gun in Indiana, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress. Earning the Hoosier state the ranking of 20th in the nation for gun violence.
Researchers looked at ten types of gun violence – including suicides, homicides and mass shootings – that occurred over the 10 year period from 2005 to 2014.
The states with the strictest gun laws had the lowest levels of violence, according to the reports co-author Chelsea Parsons, VP of Guns and Crime Policy at the Center for American Progress.
“What we found is that the ten states that have the weakest gun laws collectively have rates of gun violence that are more than three times higher than the ten states with the strongest gun laws,” Parsons said.
The report gave Massachusetts the top score for laws that are effective at preventing gun violence. Louisiana was at the bottom.
Researchers discovered that laws requiring background checks, trigger-lock rules and training requirements coincided with lower rates of gun violence, particularly in cases of domestic violence.
“Making sure that all gun sales in the state are required to undergo a background check will help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, who are not supposed to be able to buy them,” Parsons said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 167 people in Indiana died in gun-related accidents from 2005 to 2014. Nearly three in ten of those victims were under age 21.
While African-Americans make up almost 10 percent of Indiana’s population, they account for 62% of the state’s gun-related homicide victims.
