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In recent years, Washington has made significant progress on gun safety, passing a number of lifesaving pieces of firearm legislation. 

In 2016 and 2017, respectively, Washington voters approved ballot measures that enacted universal background checks and an extreme risk protection law. In 2018, state voters also approved measures to raise the minimum age to buy guns and enact a child access prevention law. In recent years, the state has also established a state office of firearm violence prevention, enacted critical ghost gun legislation, banned the sale of assault weapons, and invested in community violence intervention programs. In 2022, Washington had the fifteenth lowest gun death rate among the states. In an average year, 886 people die from gun violence in the state. That means someone dies from gun violence every 10 hours. Seventy-one percent of those deaths are gun suicides, and 25% are gun homicides. In Washington, the rate of gun deaths increased 42% from 2013 to 2022, compared to a 36% increase nationwide.

SPOTLIGHT

GUN LAW SCORECARD

The data is clear: states with stronger gun laws have less gun violence. See how your state compares in our annual ranking.

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We’re in this together. To build a safer America—one where children and parents in every neighborhood can learn, play, work, and worship without fear of gun violence—we need you standing beside us in this fight.

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