Georgia ranks 10th worst in the nation when it comes to a new study on gun crime.

The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with close ties to the White House, has ranked the fifty states on gun violence in a study just out.

"Georgia was the tenth worst," said Zack Beauchamp, a blogger at American Progress.

Beauchamp said Georgia is especially bad when it comes to the availability of illegal guns (7^th) and in gun crimes against women (5^th).

What should Georgia lawmakers do about gun violence? Beauchamp said it should come as no surprise this organization favors a solution already strongly advocated by President Barack Obama: universal background checks.

He was also highly critical of Georgia lawmakers efforts during the last session of the General Assembly to remove barriers to gun possession in places like college campuses and churches.

“That is a complete distraction from the real issues we should be discussing,” Beauchamp said. He identified them as enacting universal background checks and making it tougher for those convicted of even domestic violence misdemeanors and stalking to buy guns. The study also suggested limiting the number of guns Georgians can purchase at one time and enacting waiting limits would help reduce the amount of gun crime in the Peach State.