I wonder why Alaska’s gun death rate is so high.
Suicide. For real. Which is a huge chunk (over 60%) of all these guns deaths, but Alaska has either the first- or second-highest rate in the country, depending on the year (they trade places with Wyoming). Native Alaskans have one of the highest suicide rates on the planet.
Also, state gun regulations all have the “neighbor state” problem. If you’re near a state with lax gun laws, do the strict gun laws have as much of an effect in your state? Hawaii is a bit of an example of what happens when you have strict* gun laws and no neighbor state problem.
* “Strict” on a US scale, which goes from “very lax” at one end to “completely irresponsible regulatory void” at the other.