Brady Grades the States

NRA ^ | 1/14/04

[epow]

Brady Campaign "Grades" The States

Every year since 1997, the group has "graded" the states on their gun laws. It released its 2003 grades on Jan. 8, 2004. Since Brady`s pretense with the grades is that there aren`t enough "gun control" laws, it ignores the fact that federal gun laws apply in every state.

Brady`s rhetoric about crime, and about firearm-related deaths among "children" (which the group defines to include not only children, but also juveniles and young adults through the age of 19), is only for show. As indicated in the table on page 2, there is no correlation between Brady`s grades and those issues. Brady`s approach is simple. It is a gun-prohibition group, it wants gun prohibition laws and those that inch closer to gun prohibition, and it gives out its "grades" on solely that basis.

Brady gives 31 states an "F" or a "D" for having too little "gun control" (including low-crime states like Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming). But less gun control coincides with less crime. Since 1991, the number of guns in America has risen by about 60 million, the number of Right-to-Carry states has risen from 17 to 37, and the violent crime rate has decreased every year, 35% overall, to a 27-year low (FBI).

Brady also demonstrates either a fundamental misunderstanding about the American system of government, or contempt for it. For states that have "shall issue" Right-to-Carry laws, that provide for carry permits to be issued to applicants who meet uniform statewide standards established by the legislature and signed into law by the state`s governor, Brady says that the state "forces police to let people carry hidden handguns in public." (Emphasis added.) Perhaps Brady would prefer a state in which the police make the laws (by definition, a "police state"), but police officers and nearly everyone else in America would oppose such a scheme.

Finally, in the midst of its state-level gun laws grading gimmick, Brady claims "crime could rise" after the federal "assault weapons" ban expires in September. The ban has no effect on crime, of course. A study for Congress, follow-up studies, police reports, and felon surveys have all shown that the guns are used in only a fraction of violent crime. Moreover, there is nothing functionally different between those guns and millions of other guns. And the ban, after all, bans only gun attachments, like angled grips, adjustable stocks, and flash suppressors, which have nothing to do with crime.

There is no correlation between Brady grades (thus, "gun control") and either state violent crime rates or firearm-related death rates (incidents per 100,000 pop.) among persons ages 0-19. In the table below, the data are the most recent available: crime, 2002 (FBI); firearm-related death, 2001 (National Center for Health Statistics). For consistency with the data, Brady`s 2002 grades are used. They are almost identical to its 2003 grades.

[epow]

I couldn't copy the actual grade chart due to my rudimentary 'puter skills, but if you want to see how your state fared in the Brady grading system just go to the URL. Brady grades "A" to "F" with "A" of course being the best according to their perverse point of view. So, just reverse the grades and you will have a real world grade for each state.

[IYAS9YAS]

Let's see...my odds of getting killed by someone with a handgun in Idaho are far less than that of California...yet, Idaho gets a low grade? Glad I just got my Idaho CCW renewed and will pick it up next week.

[IYAS9YAS]

How the heck do you get an F+? It was either a passing grade or a failing one...F was Fail...how do you fail plus?

[epow]

Thanks for the help. I very seldom post an article, so I don't know how the posting system works. I thought if I put the URL in the correct spot on the posting form it would appear on the heading.

[billorites]

Sarah Brady is a tedious harridan.

Someone shoots her hubby in the head and she cops a 'tude.

[jpl]

Notice that the state with the highest "Brady Grade", Maryland, also has one of the highest murder rates in the entire country. Can you say "irony"? I thought you could.

[Vision]

I live in Maryland. Oh God!

[IronJack]

Oh, for cripes' sake, Nebraska! We can do at least as badly as South Dakota! Either we have to get this murder rate up or a concealed carry law. We can't count on the Huskers to carry the entire violent crime program.

[cruiserman]

Dang, F+. We need to work harder to fail! Time to push for VT and AK style carry in Idaho.

[facedown]

I very seldom post an article, so I don't know how the posting system works.

Ya done just fine.

The Brady Bunch up to their usual lunacy.

[FLAMING DEATH]

The chart seems to disprove their point, doesn't it? Only one state that got an F has a murder rate over 6%. Not many of the other statistics seem too favorable to gun control, either.

[bpjam]

Typical liberal ideology. They look only at the intentions and not the results. Maryland is the murder capital of the country and then get an A which Alaska has more suicides with guns than homicides and somehow that is a problem of gun control.

Conservatives look at outcomes. If you have less crime (per capita), you are a safer place. More crime, less safe. But if you grade it on the liberal gun-hating scale, the more guns there are (even if they are never fired)the worse your grade. Thank God W is in the White House and we don't have to keep fighting off nonsensical new gun restrictions.

[Veggie Todd]

Gee, this chart kinda proves OUR point. You'd think they would hesitate before they would publicize the chart and help their "enemy" make their argument.

[spodefly]

I am disappointed that Georgia got a D.

Maybe we can make improvements and shoot for an F or even and F+.

[DumpsterDiver]

...and she cops a 'tude.

Maybe she was hoping to get life insurance money and her plans were dashed.

Are we sick, or what? ;^)

[FLAMING DEATH]

My bad. Guess there were three.

But still, it seems that there's no correlation whatsoever, and some of the so called "failing" states seem to enjoy low crime rates.

I'm guessing that DC's stats were included with Maryland, right?

[Joe 6-pack]

Hey! For once Louisiana can be proud of our F. (We are #1 in Gonorrhea; however.)

Look's like F'in' Kerry's Mass. got an A-.

[epow]

Glad I just got my Idaho CCW renewed and will pick it up next week.

Good job. I renewed my GA CCW last August and I'm good for another 5 years. I call it my American Express card because I don't leave home without it. I get kinda tired of lugging around a 2 lb hunk of stainless steel, but I figure it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

[arm958]

There was an article in our State paper (Casper Star Tribune) yesterday about Wyoming rating an F. To my surprise, the sometimes leftist rag quoted a 2nd Ammendment Rights group representative who said Wyoming should be proud to get an F, since it is a baramoter of how much freedom we enjoy here. Right on.