Brady Campaign’s State Gun Law "Grades" Once Again Fail to Pass the Laugh Test

Every year since 1997, Brady Campaign (previously Handgun Control, Inc.), has "graded" the states on their gun laws. It released its 2005 "grades" on March 9, 2006. The exercise has always been a publicity stunt lacking in substance, and has shown that the group’s support for "gun control" is blind to the effect (or lack of effect) that "gun control" has on criminal or accidental misuses of guns. This year, however, they added a new twist. More on that in a moment.

Brady’s premise with its grades has always been simple. It supports gun prohibition and laws that inch closer to prohibition, and for that reason always pretends that there aren’t enough gun laws. Announcing its new grades, its chair, Sarah Brady, said, "we have done almost nothing, at the state or Federal level, to make it harder for either a terrorist, garden variety armed robber, or young person to get their hands on a handgun." Mrs. Brady’s statement was as incredible as it was ridiculous, given that the federal law bearing her name, the Brady Act, requires a criminal records check on anyone who buys a gun from a gun dealer. And there are many other federal and state gun laws.¹

The group’s approach to its grades has always been equally simple: the less "gun control" a state has, the lower the grade. This year, it gave 32 states an "F" or "D" and the average grade for the 50 states was a "D+", about the same as in previous years, though gun-related crime and accident rates have been going down significantly, and have hit periodic and all-time lows, respectively.

Brady Campaign cannot be taken seriously on this. There is no correlation between its grades, and the states’ gun-related crime and accident rates and trends. For example, 19 of Brady’s 32 "F" and "D" states have violent crime rates below the national rate, and Brady’s "A" states include Maryland, California, and Illinois, which have murder rates significantly higher than the national rate. Moreover, since 1991 violent crime has declined every year, 39% overall, to a 30-year low, and murder has declined to a 39-year low, and since 1993 the gun-related accidental death rate has decreased 58% among the whole population and decreased 75% among children. As noted, though, Brady’s grades have nevertheless been about the same, from one year to the next.

This year’s new twist. As noted, this year Brady Campaign did something different: It gave a grade to the District of Columbia, as a nod to those who advocate that the city become the nation’s 51st state. And despite D.C. having the most severe "gun control" in the nation, the grade was only a "B" because, the group said, Congress may conform D.C.’s laws to those of the rest of the country. Brady Campaign president Michael Barnes’ laughable warning: "Congressional action could cause severe grade deflation next year." We can hardly wait.

Note:

1. As examples, federal law prohibits possession of a firearm by, or transfer of a firearm to, felons, illegal aliens and seven other categories of prohibited persons. It prohibits transferring a firearm to anyone knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that it will be used in a violent or drug-trafficking crime. It prohibits possession of a handgun by, or transfer of a handgun to, a person under age 18. It prohibits the sale of a handgun to a resident of another state.