Before you go whining about gun laws...

Before all the strict gun law advocates get to raising hell about how stricter regulation prevents crime, you might want to read this, "...among the top 20 states with the strictest gun laws, as rated by the Legal Community Against Violence, seven have death rates from guns that are higher than the national average." at the Daily Beast.

Actually, the article is titled, "20 Deadliest Gun States" and is rather interesting. Texas just happens to be 24th, and that's quite a feat considering our size and, uh, predisposition...

Here's the top 20 list:

#1, Mississippi
Gun deaths per 100,000: 18.3
Permissive gun laws: 4th out of 50

#2, Arizona
Gun deaths per 100,000: 15
Permissive gun laws: 1st out of 50

#3, Alaska
Gun deaths per 100,000: 17.6
Permissive gun laws: 11th out of 50

#4, Arkansas
Gun deaths per 100,000: 15.1
Permissive gun laws: 7th out of 50

#5, Louisiana
Gun deaths per 100,000: 19.9
Permissive gun laws: 23rd out of 50

#6, New Mexico
Gun deaths per 100,000: 15
Permissive gun laws: 6th out of 50

#7, Alabama
Gun deaths per 100,000: 17.6
Permissive gun laws: 27th out of 50

#8, Nevada
Gun deaths per 100,000: 16.2
Permissive gun laws: 22nd out of 50

#9, Montana
Gun deaths per 100,000: 14.5
Permissive gun laws: 10th out of 50

#10, Wyoming
Gun deaths per 100,000: 14.5
Permissive gun laws: 8th out of 50

#11, Kentucky
Gun deaths per 100,000: 14.4
Permissive gun laws: 5th out of 50

#12, West Virginia
Gun deaths per 100,000: 14.8
Permissive gun laws: 25th out of 50

#13, Tennessee
Gun deaths per 100,000: 15
Permissive gun laws: 31st out of 50

#14, Oklahoma
Gun deaths per 100,000: 13.4
Permissive gun laws: 17th out of 50

#15, Idaho
Gun deaths per 100,000: 12.5
Permissive gun laws: 2nd out of 50

#16, Georgia
Gun deaths per 100,000: 13.1
Permissive gun laws: 13th out of 50

#17, Missouri
Gun deaths per 100,000: 12.9
Permissive gun laws: 12th out of 50

#18, South Carolina
Gun deaths per 100,000: 13.4
Permissive gun laws: 20th out of 50

#19, North Carolina
Gun deaths per 100,000: 12.3
Permissive gun laws: 28th out of 50

#20, Florida
Gun deaths per 100,000: 12.5
Permissive gun laws: 41st out of 50