is that.. adjusted for population? a lot of those counties out west don't have 100k people total, making them appear disproportionately 'red'.  interior alaska being the most severe example.. one drunk snow-injun shoots himself and suddenly... also speaking of, suicides count towards 'homicides'. remove those as well and you'd find the watermelon belt stands out even more than it already does. propaganda-map is propaganda.. probably published by some gun control org.
United States