A new report shows 2010 was a deadly year for law enforcement officers.

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In 2010, law enforcement officers suffered a 24 percent increase in deaths by gunfire over 2009, according to a new report by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Since Jan. 1, 2009, 122 law enforcement officers have been shot and killed. Since the beginning of 2011, guns have killed at least 30 officers.

"The same weak gun laws that put ordinary Americans at risk of gun violence are especially lethal to law enforcement officers who are on the front lines protecting us," said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Center. "To protect our officers, as well as ordinary Americans, Congress needs to close the loopholes in federal law that allow easy access to assault weapons and large-capacity assault clips. Law enforcement officers shouldn't be under the constant threat of deadly gunfire as they do their jobs."