Alaska has a very high rate of alcoholism and that may be a partial cause of the gun violence statistic. There are surely other reasons also, among them isolation, the perceived need to carry weapons in defense against wild animals, guns used in hunting everything from grouse to moose and bear, even subsistence hunting for seals and whale. Besides which, Alaska is a very outdoorsy kind of place and there are a lot of macho people in it who pride themselves on their ability to handle whatever is thrown at them. I doubt there are many snow machines and dog sleds that don't have a rifle or two tucked away.


"The analysis finds that Alaska:
Had the highest rate of firearm deaths in 2010
Had the highest rate of children under the age of 18 killed by guns in the 10-year period from 2001 through 2010"

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"Alaska exemplifies this trend by having the second-highest rate of overall gun violence and some of the weakest gun laws, ranking 12th-weakest in the country according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
The 10 states with the weakest gun laws collectively have a level of gun violence that is more than twice as high—104 percent higher—than the 10 states with the strongest gun laws.
Of the 10 states with the strongest gun laws, nine are among the 25 states with the lowest levels of gun violence, including 6 of the 10 with the very lowest levels."

"Louisiana, as of 2010, had the highest rate of gun violence."

http://www.americanprogress.org/press/release/2013/04/03/58669/release-alaska-has-the-second-highest-rate-of-gun-violence-in-the