Illinois Gun Safety Laws Get A- On Annual Scorecard

ILLINOIS — Illinois received an A- grade for its gun safety laws in the recently released edition of the Giffords Law Center’s Gun Law Scorecard. The annual report is put out by Giffords Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence, an advocacy group based in California.

The organization says its mission is to save lives from gun violence by shifting culture, changing policies and challenging injustice.

“Giffords Law Center works at the local, state and national levels by providing technical assistance free of charge to lawmakers, advocates, legal professionals, law enforcement and citizens who seek to make their communities safer from gun violence,” according to the Giffords Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence website.

According to the report, Illinois' gun death rate is 12.1 per every 100,000 residents, compared to the national average of 11.9 per 100,000 residents.

Our state ranked eighth overall in the strength of our gun laws, but 31st out of 50 states when it comes to gun deaths.

"Illinois has stronger gun laws than the majority of the country," the report said. "The state has the 20th-lowest gun death rate and imports crime guns from other states at the third-highest rate. To save lives from gun violence, lawmakers could strengthen the state’s licensing requirement and increase funding to community violence intervention programs."

The Giffords Law Center scorecard is based on gun death rates provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an analysis of gun legislation in all 50 states. The gun advocacy group additionally assigns each law and policy a point value, with more-stringent gun laws gaining more points for the state.

California was ranked as the state with the strongest gun laws in the country, according to Giffords Law Center, followed by New Jersey and Connecticut.

Overall, 21 states finished with an “F” grade in the 2019 rankings. Kentucky, Missouri, Idaho, Wyoming and Mississippi ranked as the five bottom states on the list.

Despite the large number of states that finished with an “F” grade, it was the first time in the scorecard’s history that more Americans live in states with an “A” grade (98.7 million) than in states with an “F” grade (94.7 million).

Between 2012 and 2019, the number of Americans living in states with “A” grades has increased by more than 45 million, while the number of people living in states with “D” and “F” grades declined, according to the organization.

“For decades, state lawmakers have an established track record of following the NRA’s orders. But this era is over as state leaders are now charting a different course, passing hundreds of laws that have brought countless communities increased peace and safety,” said Robyn Thomas, executive director of Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, in a news release. “The rise of gun safety laws, which accelerated after Parkland captured the nation’s attention and crystallized demands for action, shows leaders on both sides of the aisle are taking action.”

After shooting incidents including the 2019 workplace shooting at Henry Pratt in Aurora, Illinois State Police are pushing for stricter laws when it comes to getting a FOID card, including doubling the application fee and requiring fingerprints.

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In 2019 alone, 22 states and the District of Columbia signed 70 gun safety bills into law, according to the organization.

The gun advocacy group based in San Francisco, California, is supported by foundations such as Amnesty International, The Battery Foundation, Craigslist Foundation, The Fund For New Jersey, and others, according to its 2017 Annual Report.

Here are the top 10 states with the strongest gun laws in the nation, according to Giffords Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence.

1. California
2. New Jersey
3. Connecticut
4. New York
5. Hawaii
6. Maryland
7. Massachusetts
8. Illinois
9. Rhode Island
10. Washington

You can read the full 2019 ranking from the Giffords Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence on its website.