Mississippi has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market and allow the sale of guns without background checks. In the 2009 state scorecards released for all 50 states by the Brady Campaign, Mississippi earns just six points out of a total of 100.
According to government figures, Mississippi also has the fifteenth highest percentage of crime guns recovered that were originally purchased within the state. The Brady Campaign relates this “homegrown” gun violence to the lack of gun laws in the state and nationally.