Fatal Gaps:

Can dangerous people buy guns in your state?

Every day, 31 Americans are murdered and 55 people kill themselves with guns. Too often, the people pulling the trigger were able to arm themselves because of gaps in our background check system.

We can only stop people with mental illness from buying guns if every gun sale includes a background check. And those background checks will only be effective if states submit the hundreds of thousands of mental health records still missing from the system. Every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.

See how many mental health records your state has submitted—and tell your governor to take action and prevent gun violence.

Read Closing the Gaps, Everytown’s latest report on the background check system.

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Following the Virginia Tech tragedy, Virginia became the national leader in submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

Mental Health Records Submitted
555,968

Mental Health Record Submissions Needed to Join Best-Performing States
15,968

Why does this matter?

2,155,968

gun background checks were conducted in Connecticut in 2014 using this incomplete database, which fails to block gun sales to the hundreds of thousands of prohibited purchasers whose mental health records are not in the system.

How Can States Do Better? Our Methodology

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Ask your friends and family to join you in demanding action to end gun violence.

Click here to read the May 2014 report, Closing the Gaps.

Click here to read the November 2011 report, Fatal Gaps.

Colorado is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

South Carolina is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

California is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

Delaware is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands of records missing from even the top-performing states.

Michigan is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

New York is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

New Jersey is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

Pennsylvania is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

Texas is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

Washington is one of the top ten highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.

Dear Governor, Hundreds of thousands of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system, putting American lives at risk. I commend our state for recently passing a law that requires prohibiting mental health records to be sent to the background check system. Now our leaders must act to make sure that all records get submitted, because every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen. Sincerely, [Name]

Dear Governor, Hundreds of thousands of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system, putting American lives at risk. I urge you to make it a top priority to pass common sense gun legislation to ensure that guns are kept out of dangerous hands. I’m concerned that our state has failed to submit the records of seriously mentally ill people who are prohibited from buying guns to the national do-not-buy database. Our leaders should act immediately to pass a law that requires these records be sent to the background check system, because every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen. Sincerely, Sincerely, [Name]

Dear Governor, Hundreds of thousands of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system, putting American lives at risk. I commend our state for submitting so many prohibiting mental health records to the background check system, but we need a law to ensure these records keep flowing in the future. Our leaders should act immediately to pass a law that requires all prohibiting mental health records be sent to the background check system. Sincerely, [Name]

Dear Governor, Hundreds of thousands of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system—putting American lives at risk. I'm proud to live in a state has acted to get prohibiting mental health records into the background check system. Please keep working to improve our laws—and to ensure we submit all relevant records to the system. Sincerely, Sincerely, [Name]