New Orleans, is total democratic, 40% welfare, crime capital of the United States, murder Capitol of the United States. the rest of Louisiana is Republican , .

When you have a republicans control all branches of government putting the state into poverty, there is nothing a democratic controlled city can do.

New Orleans is majority African American. Maine is one of the whitest states in the nation. Not being racist, just sayin.

Louisiana has been run by democrats for decades. Corruption, poverty, incompetence were the hallmark of Louisiana democrats. Much like Illinois and California are run today.

Only after the utter incompetence of Kathleen Bianco, did they wise up and put a Republican in power. New Orleans still has a democrat mayor. The only difference between New Orleans and Detroit is the weather is nicer in New Orleans or there would be nothing there.

Don't be fooled-- Maine may appear safe, but I think we all know what lives in the sewers of Derry...

(Beep Beep, Richie!)

LoL are you trying to say city laws trump state laws? Control of a state has far more influence than control of a city, just like how control of the federal government has far power than control of a state. Check the teen pregnancy, jobless, and crime rates for the U.S. The divide is virtually North/South with the North have lower rates in most categories (can't do much about areas like Chicago or Harlem).

Where's your God now?

Much of New Orleans inside the city limit is dangerous. Get out of the perpetually Democrat controlled city and it gets better. Same for Baton Rouge. The rural areas are as peaceful as any other rural area of the country. LBJ's "Great Society" bred cities like New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Detroit, Washington D.C., etc.

I don't understand, why isn't it more peaceful in the conservative religion-driven South?

Dunno. Why is Utah so peaceful?

Ah yes, it turns out, guns and bullets do kill people.

SumFun -- Mainers tend to keep to themselves. It has nothing to do with where you're from. I came here from Mass. 30 years ago and it took a long while to understand that. If you persist in being friendly and involved in your community you will be fine here. But Mainers are not going to change lifelong habits to accommodate you. BTW I would never leave Maine, as it is a terrific place to live and raise a family. And the winters aren't that bad. ( most of the time ). But don't ask me again in January.

Alex, you need to control for race and income before you make wild accusations about north vs south. Particularly when you are exempting Chicago and Harlem from your analysis.

Southern Right to work states generally have lower unemployment rates than the industrialized midwest and northeast. Jobs are moving south, it is well documented.

These ratings are based state-by-state. Yes, individual cities will be taken as part of the whole bur only as part.

I think if a personal researches the entire history of a state, it's social/cultural identity becomes clear. Maine does do better educationally but it has always done i.e. educated people rear educated children.

The South has always been plagued by social problems and I think the solutions are still a long way out.

Its called "from away" Your mothers mother or fathers father need to have been born in Maine. Tim Samples (Maine humorist) once told a 92 year old woman who was born in Massachusetts and moved to Maine at age 6 months. "sorry deea you aint now or eva gunna be a maina"

Maine is the place- nature (many parks),gateway to Canada, good Japanese food, good Maine food- fresh -one can walk,swim,ski(both nordic and downhill),bicycle, have entertainment-train to Boston to NYC-bus and airplane too. Maine is the cleanest state in US for sure and Maine welcomes visitors with their pets- Maine is the Dog friendliest state- all men with trades (licensed) have dogs in their vans- one evenn has a motorcycle with the sidecar with his labrador wearing a helmet and skisunglasses. Welcome to visit Maine- there is a lot of history that happened in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. People even speak French.

I love Maine and I'm glad to have spent many summers there. I guess, my family is the exception. Grandparents spent many summers there and bought a place there the year I was born. My mom spends 6 mos. in Cali and 6mos. in Maine. All my friends from those summer vacations I still see when I visit from time to time and my mom is accepted widely and on the library board on Swans Island. It's lovely and I would love to live there all year round, if I could only get use to the winters.

Your conclusion is faulty. Over the last 20 years the US has become more peaceful because over the last 20 years gun laws have been eliminated and ownership is at an all time high.

We Mainers love our guns and the criminals think twice about robbing or confronting people (like us that have concealed carry permits).

The percentages that the author quotes include states and cities with high crime rates that restrict access to guns and thus skew the results.

Also the author doesn't state whether the 400 percent higher homicide rate takes into consideration the population or just the total number of Canadian homicides vs US homicides. The USA has way more people.

I would conclude that the numbers in this article and the hypothesis are bunk.

Check your map. The northeasternmost state in the U.S. is Alaska, not Maine. The global east/west meridian goes through Alaska. It is the eastern most, the western most, and the northernmost state in the U.S.A. Hawaii is the southernmost.

"...five factors in its rankings: the number of homicides, number of violent crimes, the incarceration rate, number of police department employees and the availability of small arms. "

Hurray for the police state! They are the most peaceful alternative!

Too many police, creates a criminal society. False arrest to keep a job. If the population of America's criminals is at 2 million, then there is no way a city of criminals, would be the 4th largest city. This report is faulty.

My 12 year old has enough sense to know the looser the gun laws the more homicides.

FYI - Maine has some of the most loose gun laws in the country: Open carry everywhere but court houses and schools, concealed weapons permits issued to anyone as long as they're not a felon, fully automatic permits issued with a simple background check, no restrictions and regulations on standard small arms and accessories (ie: ammo type / mag capacity).

Your logic fails.

@baddog

Not true. California and NY have plenty of homicides, Chicago is one of the most violent cities in America, so is DC, yet all of these places have very strict gun laws. Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have very lenient gun laws (Shall Issue states), yet have very low homicide rates. Demographics pay a much larger role in determining gun violence than any law (or lack thereof) on the books. Your oversimplification is just that-- and as a result, becomes disingenuous.

Baddog... ask your 12 year old to explain what WMG-21 wrote, he was spot on.

You're the ingenious one! NO state in the US has "strict" gun laws my friend because "strict" in the case of the US is absolutely relative. No other country in the world freely and legally allows the level of firepower in the hands of ordinary citizens as this country does regardless of which state you live in. The misinterpretation of the founding fathers with regard to the 2nd ammendment most surely has them turning in their graves!

When the Founding Fathers were alive most citizens had personal firearms as the norm. They were fearful of the government becoming ever more powerful and understood a limit to that power was to constitutionally allow for an armed citizenry.

WMG-21: you nailed it.

When it comes right down to it, as long as you stay out of urban slums and away from drugs, you're pretty much safe in the U.S. Sure you'll get the occasional school or office shooting, but, given how they make national news, it goes to show you that that sort of thing is, by far, the exception than the rule.

We’re not making any moral judgments on this," said Killelea. "But the availability of guns is associated with higher levels of homicide."

This is plain BS. a recent statistic shows that there are 6 guns in Maine for every person that lives in Maine. Maine also has a "Castle" Law, so odds are before you consider violating someones peace in Maine, you need to consider you just may get shot. So there is a correlation to gun ownership, a sign on my shed says it well, This Property is protected By Colt and Winchester the dog is just back up.

When given nearly unrestricted access to guns, people in the south shoot each other, people in the northeast don't. Hmm....since the gun laws aren't different....yep....it's the people.

Vermont has basically no gun laws...concealed carry without a permit; you can buy a glock and ammo, load it, stick it under your jacket and walk outside and be COMPLETELY LEGAL (aside from gov't buildings). Then look at the south, they have ridiculously lenient gun laws as well but are some of the most violent places around.

Stop placing the blame for violence on laws/lack of laws. It's us, the people, who will be violent or not be...with a gun, a knife, a car, a club or our bare hands.

Hmm...I live in a urban "slum" and crime here is down 50% since the 90's. I guess all those illegals and gun laws really work after all. Take off your mid-West blinders and come out for a visit. It's lovely today in So. Cal.

Obama, ....... - Your nearest neighbor also lived 10-miles away.

Oh and just for fun with what the founding fathers wanted....how about this:

At the time of the writing of the constitution, we were allowed to keep muzzle loaders. These happened to be the state of the art infantry weapon of the world at the time. They wanted citizens to be able to hold their own against the military in a fight using military grade equipment.

According to their logic, we should be allowed to keep machine guns and grenades in our houses...but we're only asking for pistols and semi-autos.

Before you anti-gun nuts freak out realize this is tongue in cheek.

except it's not

Oh, I thought the authors meant peaceful, as in "do you like quiet?" They mean "peaceful," as in "do you value your life?"

When I travel out into this world, I have visited a many people. They have no guns. They live a guilt free mind. For these people a guilty mind and fear, are the only reason a person needs a gun. I like that idea. Now that is peaceful.

When I travel out into this world, I have visited a many people.

For these people a guilty mind and fear, are the only reason a person needs a gun.

With all due respect, repeating, you haven't met enough people. I've known many well-adjusted, successful people who clear their heads by shooting at clay pigeons.

Funny! - pretty close! I live in Maine , and it is a nice state - 1.5 million people , about 1.1 million live in the bottom 2 counties. Lots of woods - it's as far from Portland to Washington as it is from Portland to the top of the state. Gets to -20 in the winter, but that just makes the skiing better.

This guys thinks there are no guns in Maine? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA- people who have them usually have 3-4. My wife is a real girlie-girl, and she had a shotgun, rifle, and has a .357. Only one of her family to get a deer.

The reason we don't have a lot of crime is because nobody has much to steal for the most part, there is a LOT of poverty (I don't care what that guys says - he obviously hasn't been north of Boston, if at all...) but we all watch out for each other. Woman above said she'd been ignored by her neighbors for 10 years - they probably think you want to be left alone. Invite them to dinner and see what happens. People in Maine won't bug you. Celebrities love it here, because it's VERY uncool to gush at people.

Yeh, well it takes a while because we only have one set of teeth to swap around........

I think YOU are thinking of Montana.....

Now we DO eat lobster liver! Green and YUMMY!! --- dontcha know......

Mark.....whites kill each other all the time. If the media talk about one element of crime, then you are certainly right. But I do read about whites killing children, families,friends and strangers. It is happening you know. Pretending to be difference, only leads one to live with hidden lies.

I believe that this survey thinks that Maine stops at Portland! Maine has an extremely high unemployment rate, poverty rate and high use of welfare. The graduation rate may be high, but that is because some schools have a graduating class of 40 kids! Does this survey account for population as well? I think there are more moose than people in Maine. I can say on the gun debate, that Maine has a strong hunting culture and guns are plentiful there. People there are trained on how to use them safely from the time they are kids. But, there is no need to shoot your neighbor, because they are ten miles away and if you shoot your wife, you lose out on that welfare! In all seriousness, Maine is a great place to visit and I love it there!

exactly. that sums it up very well, and that explains the study. Maine is very conservative, and people think first, and then know consequences of actions. Louisiana has a history of many social and cultural movements and the african americans there have to deal with a lot, and often live in poverty. They are worlds apart, and the culture needs to be understood of these vastly different places.

More people visits New Orleans, than Maine.

I lived in Alabama for a time. I agree that states from Lousiana to Georgia are a different world from the North and Mid east. But the food is good everywhere I have been. :-)

I don't like cold weather unless I am skiing on some powdery slopes. Florida and California have the most perfect sunny weather for my "outdoor-sy" lifestyle.

History which explains how the Republicans became Democrats and the Democrats became Republicans between the end of the Civil War and the rise of the Civil Rights Movement a hundred years later in the 1950s and 60s. .

Abraham Lincoln, was elected first Republican President of the United States in the fall of 1860, and the southern bloc of slave states, which voted primarily Democratic, refused to accept this result, and instead claimed the right to secede from the Union the following spring. South Carolina, convinced that a lady's sewing thimble will hold all the blood that will be shed" in any armed conflict with the Union ,James McPherson,Battle Cry of Freedom.

I really laugh,can describes you either one of these,naive about American's Histroy and blanket everything to be one's political believe

One best example recently was the Late senator Robert C Byrd was the one ,that first formed KKK party,Its partly -true.He was briefly a member of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s,but later left the group and denounced racial intolerance till 60's,You want us to believes that the black are part of the KKK members? You still want us to believes that the black slave has nothing to do in early days as Republican main Supporter? And GOP now wasn't a Ku Klux Klan but black slave Democrate supporter back then? It show now HISTROY its has nothing to do being Democrate or Republican in early days,that can be counted as to who you're now a party affection.

Today the heartland of Lincoln's electoral base then the densely populated northeastern states which were to make up the bulk of the Union forces, also called the North in the war votes staunchly Democratic.

Amazingly, the states which formed the Confederacy, also known in the war as the South, contain most of the hardcore base of the current GOP, which began as Lincoln's very own Republican Party. For a physical analogy of tea-party to this astonishing "turn" of events.

Really it wasn't until the '90s that Texas really shifted over to the Republican side overall, but the start did begin in the late '80s (or, if you count Bill Clements getting elected Governor, it would start in the late '70s, I guess, but since Clements was often the lone Republican in real power and was replaced by Democrats both times as Governor, it's hard to say whether his election was really the start of the Republican takeover of Texas).

There would be the occassional Republican elected statewide (John Tower to the Senate in the '60s, for example), but Democrats had a stranglehold on almost all of the power positions until relatively recently.

And really, it wasn't until this past election that the Republican takeover of Texas was completed (for now, of course. Things change).

Obviously the person who wrote this article is oblivious to Maine's Domestic Violence Homicide Rates. The Maine outdoors may be beautiful and peaceful but your own home can be a deadly nightmare!

Truth_Hurts,

You know Maine is a blue state? I don't think it is what party is in charge as much as area, population, and values. Believe you me, Maine has it's share of house invasions, domestic violence, drug use as any other state. It's just that our population is small to begin with. It decreases the further north you go. Two thirds of the State population lives below Augusta.

I was born in Presque Ilse Maine. Lived there as a young guy. Now, I live down in the Southern part. Many more guns up North than are down South. Really, almost like two different States. I think this author has never been to Maine or has no idea of the true "peacefullness" in our State. We are no more or less violent than the rest of the country. A little poorer, but we get by with everbody pitching in to help one another.

But, wouldn't give it up for all the money others have. That's the real difference up here.

Right on, Vermont Wise. I moved around a bit when I was younger, but I always came home to Vermont. These hard winters bring out the best in us; my dad used to drive around in snowstorms looking for stranded motorists to help ... for fun. And yes, poverty is different when there is such a strong sense of community, combined with old fashioned Vermont sensibility.

And our fall colors take my breath away every year, like I'm seeing them for the first time.

Very nice- great description.

We sit up here watching the hurricanes, fires, floods, tornadoes, drought, etc. on TV and wonder why anybody would want to live down south or out west- yeah, it's a little cool in the winter, but the weather is very moderate for the most part.

Guys we REALLY have to keep quiet about this- people are gonna want to move here after this!