New York’s low gun death due to strong gun laws and low gun ownership.

New York State has the fourth lowest gun death rate in the nation–and that’s because of our strong gun laws and low gun ownership.

This is according to a recent report by the Violence Policy Center that analyzed 2011 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

The report finds that states with strong gun violence prevention laws and low rates of gun ownership, like New York, have the lowest gun death rates in the nation. Conversely, states with lax laws and higher rates of gun ownership lead the nation in gun deaths.

“New York’s fourth place ranking is a testament to the effectiveness of its strong gun laws and relatively low rates of gun ownership,” said Leah Gunn Barrett, NYAGV Executive Director. “It’s especially impressive given our state’s population of nearly 20 million and the fact that New York hosts 80 million visitors per year. With the 2013 passage of the New York SAFE Act, which will keep more guns out of the wrong hands, we are hopeful that New York’s ranking will improve further.” Barrett added, “Even one death from gun violence is one too many. We will continue to advocate for strong gun laws such as Nicholas’s Law, which will require the safe storage of guns in the home to protect children.”

America’s gun death rates far surpass those of most other Western industrialized nations. Even New York’s low rate, 5.1 per 100,000, is five times the death rate of the United Kingdom and Australia, 0.23 and 0.86 per 100,000, respectively.