Damaged traffic poles are seen in Mayfield, Kentucky, the United States, on Dec. 14, 2021. (Photo by Angie Yu/Xinhua)
Experts attribute gun violence across the state to relaxed laws in obtaining firearms and the absence of any training requirements to handle a legally purchased gun.
NEW YORK, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Kentucky has some of the least restrictive state gun laws in the United States, and gun enthusiasts have described it as "one of the most gun-friendly states east of the Mississippi," reported CNN on Wednesday.
By contrast, gun violence prevention groups like Everytown have billed the state's laws as "among the worst in the country," the report noted.
Kentucky is home to some of the highest firearm death rates in the country, the latest statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.
"Experts attribute gun violence across the state to relaxed laws in obtaining firearms and the absence of any training requirements to handle a legally purchased gun," said the report.
Universal background checks are nonexistent, so one can buy a gun from a stranger and there's no record of the sale, making it almost impossible for law enforcement to trace these weapons if they're ever used in a crime, it added. ■
