States with Strong Gun Laws and Lower Gun Ownership Have Fewer Gun Suicides

WASHINGTON, DC – Data for 2016 reveals that states with weak gun violence prevention laws and higher rates of gun ownership have the highest gun suicide rates in the nation. That’s according to a Violence Policy Center (VPC) analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

In addition, state with the lowest gun suicide rates have lower rates of gun ownership and some of the strongest gun violence prevention laws in the nation.

The VPC analysis refers to gun suicide rates in 2016, the most recent year for which data is available.

The states with the highest per capita gun suicide rate in 2016 were:

1. Montana – 15.54 (per 100,000)
2. Alaska -15.23
3. Wyoming – 14.86
4. Oklahoma – 13.18
5. West Virginia – 13.00

The states with the lowest gun suicide rate in the nation were:

1. New Jersey – 1.97 (per 100,000)
2. Massachusetts – 2.06
3. New York – 2.48
4. Hawaii – 2.59
5. Connecticut – 3.08
6. According to the analysis, each of these states has strong gun violence prevention laws and a lower rate of gun ownership.

The nationwide gun suicide rate in 2016 was 7.10 per 100,000, an increase of 3.5 percent from 2015’s gun suicide rate of 6.86 per 100,000.

As for the overall suicide rate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the lowest suicide rate among the 50 states are:

1. New Jersey – 7.2 (per 100,000)
2. New York – 8.1
3. Massachusetts – 8.8
4. Maryland – 9.4
5. Connecticut – 10.1

The highest rate is found in:

1. Montana – 25.9
2. Alaska – 25.8
3. Wyoming –  25.2
4. New Mexico – 22.5
5. Utah – 21.8