Washington, D.C. — As the gun violence epidemic continues to ravage the United States, Republican leaders have continued to tout the false narrative that “Democrat-controlled” cities are unsafe. However, a new report from the Center for American Progress Action Fund finds that Americans in red states are far more vulnerable because of their states’ weak gun laws. An original CAP Action analysis of Gun Violence Archive data reveals that, on average, cities in blue states have lower rates of gun homicides and shooting incidents when adjusting for population than cities in red states.
Additional key takeaways from the report include:
- From 2015 to 2022, cities in blue states saw an average gun homicide rate of 7.23 per 100,000 residents, while in red-state cities, that rate was 11.1 per 100,000 residents—53 percent higher than the rate in blue-state cities.
- In 2022, cities in red states experienced 27 percent more accidental shootings, on average, than cities in blue states.
- From 2018 to 2021, red-state cities experienced larger increases in gun violence rates than blue-state cities.
- In 2023, blue-state cities are experiencing larger declines in gun violence rates than red-state cities.
“To stop gun violence in this country, every lawmaker at every level of government must come together to pass commonsense gun laws and stop violence before it happens,” said Chandler Hall, senior policy analyst for Gun Violence Prevention at CAP Action and author of the report. “If policymakers in this country are serious about ending the gun violence epidemic, they should be promoting stronger gun laws, not fear.”
Read the report: “Cities in Blue States Experiencing Larger Declines in Gun Violence in 2023” by Chandler Hall
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Colin Seeberger at [email protected].