HOUSTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The state of Louisiana has the highest rate of gun-related deaths in the United States, while the island state of Hawaii has the lowest rate, according to the results of a study released on Friday.

    In Louisiana, 45.6 percent of households are gun-owners, leading to a gun-related death rate of 19.58 per 100,000, the highest in the nation.

    But in Hawaii, only 9.7 percent of households own at least a gun, keeping the gun-related death rate there at 2.58 per 100,000 residents, the lowest among the 50 states.

    The study, conducted by the Violence Policy Center, was based on just-released 2006 national data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    Following Louisiana, other four states with the highest per-capita gun death rates were Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi and Nevada.

    Each of these states had a per-capita gun death rate far exceeding the national per-capita gun death rate of 10.32 per 100,000 for 2006.

    According to the Violence Policy Center, a Washington D.C.-based gun-control advocacy group, the states with the most gun deaths all have something in common: high rates of gun ownership and loose gun laws.

    "More guns means more gun death and injury. Fewer guns means less gun death and injury. It's a simple equation," said the group's legislative director, Kristen Rand, in a press release highlighting the statistics.

    James L. Moses, president of the Alabama State Rifle and Pistol Association, criticized the connection of liberal gun ownership rules with gun deaths.

    "There are a lot of states that have laws similar to Alabama," Moses said. "Some have high death rates, others don't."

    Montana and the Dakotas also have loose restrictions, Moses said, but they don't have high rates of gun death.

    According to the statistics, Montana ranked 16th on the list. South Dakota ranked 30th, and North Dakota ranked 41st.

    "I think gun deaths are more tied to poverty and lack of education and things like that," Moses said. "I don't see people getting shot all the time around here."