Gun deaths in Mississippi rank third in Nation Per Capita

In order to legally carry a concealed gun in Mississippi, you only have to be at least 18 years old, have a legal gun and not be convicted of a felon.

Mississippi has the third highest number of gun deaths per capita in the nation. That's according to a recent study by the Violence Policy Center in Washington. MPB's Lawayne Childrey examines the impact guns have on the state’s largest city.

In one of the roughest neighborhoods in Jackson Police Officer Joseph Daughtry recalls one of the many incidents that helped shoot Mississippi near the top of the nations gun death list per capita.

“That young lady we were talking about was shot down here on this corner”

Last year there were 73 homicides in Jackson. All but about a dozen involved a firearm. A statistic that greatly concerns JPD Sergeant Duane Odum.

“We’re third in the nation due to laws.”

In order to legally carry a concealed gun in Mississippi, you only have to be at least 18 years old, have a legal gun and not be convicted of a felon. Sgt Odum would like to see those laws toughened.

“Then you won’t have as many or a haven for these particular crimes. ‘Cause the officers do a fine job. They recover weapons everyday all day. But once they get these weapons off the street the people that are perpetrating these crimes are being released. So it’s a revolving door.”

But for Sam Richardson, Secretary of the Mississippi State Fire Arms Owners Association, it's not the laws that need changing but attitudes.

“I think the problem has to do with drug deals gone bad. With young men in the inner city without fathers who are carrying guns with no training. I have myself as an emergency physician, seen a young man 19 years old whose mother said don’t go to that party. Well he went ahead anyway, and he got a 9mm slug and died before he got to University Medical Center.”

Only Louisiana and Alabama had more gun deaths per capita than Mississippi. For MPB News, I'm Lawayne Childrey.