Gun-Laws-State – Gunlyfe

GUN LAWS BY STATE

THE COMPLETE GUIDE

This guide has everything you need to know about U.S. gun laws by state.

So if you need some information about a state’s gun laws you’re in the right place.
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STATE WITH DEADLY FORCE LAWS

STATES THAT BAN OPEN CARRY

STATES WITH NICS CHECK-PRIVATE SALES

STATES WITH FIREARM REGISTRY

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Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • District of Columbia • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

State Gun Laws in The USA

Gun Law Rating - 5 stars is the friendliest.

Alabama

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Firearm must be in holster
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No

Main article: Alabama gun laws
Alabama laws rating –

Alaska

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	No	No	Policy is Unrestricted
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No

Main article: Gun laws in Alaska
Alaska laws rating –

Arizona

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns
Permit required	No	No
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Arizona gun laws
Arizona laws rating –

Arkansas

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	No	No	Policy is Unrestricted “when on a journey” (outside your county of residence)
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No license required
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Arkansas gun laws
Arkansas laws rating –

California

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	Yes	Policy is May Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	Yes
Registration of firearm	Yes	Yes
Open carry allowed	Yes*	Yes*	*Long guns and handguns can be openly carried in some rural counties.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Sale must be through licensed dealer
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Magazine limited to 10 rounds. But Federal Court blocked ban in June 2017 so still unresolved.

Main article: California gun laws
California laws rating –

Colorado

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes*	Yes*	*No permit required. Cannot open carry in posted areas such as Denver
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Sale must be through licensed dealer and Colorado Bureau of Investigation must approve tansfer.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Magazine limited to 15 rounds.

Main article: Colorado gun laws
Colorado laws rating –

Connecticut

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	Yes	Policy is Shall Issue due to Court rulings.
Purchase permit required	Yes	Yes	There is a 14 day waiting period to purchase long guns.
Registration of firearm	Yes	Yes	Sales and serial numbers are recorded. Does not apply to out of state sales.
Open carry allowed	Yes	Partial	Requires permit for handgun. There is no law regarding long guns and open carry.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Sale must be through licensed dealer.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Magazine limited to 10 rounds.

Main article: Connecticut gun laws
Connecticut laws rating –

Delaware

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	No	Policy is May Issue. But operates like Shall Issue
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Sale must be through licensed dealer.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Delaware gun laws
Delaware laws rating –

District of Columbia

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	N/A	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	Yes
Registration of firearm	Yes	Yes	Must be registered with Metropolitan Police.
Open carry allowed	No	No
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Sale must be through licensed dealer.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Magazine limited to 10 rounds.

Main article: District of Columbia gun laws
District of Columbia laws rating –

Florida

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No	Florida law bans any registration of firearms
Open carry allowed	No	No	There are some exceptions such as when hunting or fishing.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Florida gun laws
Florida laws rating –

Georgia

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	License required.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Georgia gun laws
Georgia laws rating –

Hawaii

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	Yes	No	Policy is May Issue but operates as No Issue state
Purchase permit required	Yes	Yes
Registration of firearm	Yes	Yes
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Open carry of long guns allowed and no law against handguns but permits are never issued for handguns
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Permit required to purchase handgun. Will require background check to obtain permit.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	No	Can not hold more than 10 rounds in handgun.

Main article: Hawaii gun laws
Hawaii laws rating –

Idaho

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Permit required	No*	No	*Non-residents require a permit to carry concealed within cities. Policy is Unrestricted.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Idaho gun laws
Idaho laws rating –

Illinois

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry Permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	Yes	Purchases need a FOID card.
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	No	No
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Seller is required to verify purchasers FOID card.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Illinois gun laws
Illinois laws rating –

Indiana

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Permit is required.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Indiana gun laws
Indiana laws rating –

Iowa

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	No	Carry permit can be used to purchase
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Permit is required.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	No	Will need a permit to purchase or carry.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Iowa gun laws
Iowa laws rating –

Kansas

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No	No	Policy is Unrestricted.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Kansas gun laws
Kansas laws rating –

Kentucky

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Kentucky gun laws
Kentucky laws rating –

Louisiana

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required but can be restricted by some local authorities.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Louisiana gun laws
Louisiana laws rating –

Maine

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No	No	Policy is Unrestricted.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Maine gun laws
Maine laws rating –

Maryland

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Concealed carry permit required	Yes	N/A	Policy is May Issue. Permits are difficult to obtain.
Purchase permit required	Yes	No	Requires a handgun qualification license.
Registration of firearm	Yes	No	Handguns and automatic weapons require registration with police.
Permit needed for open carry?	Yes	No	Requires carry permit for handgun but usually only police or security guards open carry.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Partial	Sales must go through a licensed dealer or police.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Limited to 10 rounds. Possession of higher capacity magazine is legal if purchased out of state.
State preemption	Yes	Yes	Most local laws are preempted by state laws but there are a few laws that are not.
Assault weapons banned	Yes	Yes	There is a ban on certain models of firearms.

Main article: Maryland gun laws
Maryland laws rating –

Massachusetts

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Concealed carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is May Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	Yes	Carry permit or FID (firearm identification) required.
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	No	Permit required to open carry handguns. Open carry of long guns is illegal except when hunting.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Seller is required to verify the purchasers FID card.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Must not exceed 10 rounds.
Red flag law	Yes	Yes	Firearms can be temporarily confiscated.
Owner license required	Yes	Yes	FID license required.

Main article: Massachusetts gun laws
Massachusetts laws rating –

Michigan

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No*	No	*If purchaser does not have a carry license and sale is not through a licensed dealer then they will need a permit.
Registration of firearm	Yes	No	Must be registered with law enforcement.
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Permit required to open carry in vehicle.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	No	You must have a carry permit or handgun purchase license which both require a background check.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Michigan gun laws
Michigan laws rating –

Minnesota

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	Yes	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	No	Residents of Minnesota can use a carry permit to purchase.
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Permit required to openly carry handgun or long gun.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No
Assault weapon law	No	No	Assault weapons can be purchased with a permit to carry.
Owner permit required	No	No
Peaceable journey law	Yes	Yes	Gun must be unloaded, in case and legally possessed.
Restriction on NFA weapons	Yes	Yes	Short barrelled rifles and suppressors are legal.
Ammunition restrictions	No	No
State Preemption of local restrictions	Yes	Yes	Discharge of firearms can be regulated by local municipalities.

Main article: Minnesota gun laws
Minnesota laws rating –

Mississippi

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No	No	Policy is Unrestricted. No license required if firearm is carried in a purse, handbag, satchel, holsters and sheaths.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Mississippi gun laws
Mississippi laws rating –

Missouri

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No	No	Policy is Unrestricted. No permit is required however you can still obtain one. A permit will exempt the holder from laws passed by local authorities.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Missouri gun laws
Missouri laws rating –

Montana

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No*	No	*You will need a permit if you want to carry a concealed firearm in a city or town. Policy is Unrestricted and Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Montana gun laws
Montana laws rating –

Nebraska

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	No	Carry permit or handgun certificate required.
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Firearm must be visible in a vehicle. Can be restricted by local authorities.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	No	Need a carry permit to purchase which requires a background check.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Nebraska gun laws
Nebraska laws rating –

Nevada

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	If in a vehicle cannot be concealed on your person without a permit.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes*	Yes*	*Voluntary, up to seller if they want to do a background check
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Nevada gun laws
Nevada laws rating –

New Hampshire

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No	No	Policy is Unrestricted.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required. Long guns in vehicles cannot be loaded.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: New Hampshire gun laws
New Hampshire laws rating –

New Jersey

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	Yes	Policy is May Issue. Permits rarely issued to ordinary citizens.
Purchase permit required	Yes	Yes	Handgun ammunition, rifles and shotguns require a purchaser ID card.
Registration of firearm	Yes	No	Registration of firearms is voluntary.
Open carry allowed	No	Yes	Carry permit is required for handguns.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	No	Purchasers of handguns require a permit to purchase. Purchasers of long guns need a firearms purchaser ID card.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Limit of 10 rounds for a semi-automatic rifle or handgun and 6 rounds for a semi-automatic shotgun.

Main article: New Jersey gun laws
New Jersey laws rating –

New Mexico

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes*	No	*You only need a permit to conceal carry, open carry is legal with no permit. Policy is Shall Issue but operates as a limited Unrestricted state.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: New Mexico gun laws
New Mexico laws rating –

New York

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is May Issue. Generally it is harder to obtain a permit closer to big NY cities.
Purchase permit required	Yes	No	Outside New York city, Suffolk and Nassau counties permits to purchase a handgun are issued by County or State Supreme Court Judges.
Registration of firearm	Yes	No	It is illegal to possess an unregistered handgun.
Open carry allowed	No	Yes	Carry permit holders must carry their handgun concealed.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Must be through a licensed dealer.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Limited to 10 rounds.

Main article: New York gun laws
New York laws rating –

North Carolina

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	No	Carry permit or Pistol Purchase permit required.
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	No	Will need a carry permit or purchase permit to buy a handgun which require a background check to acquire.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: North Carolina gun laws
North Carolina rating –

North Dakota

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	No	Carry permit or Pistol Purchase permit required.
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	No	Will need a carry permit or purchase permit to buy a handgun which require a background check to acquire.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: North dakota gun laws
North dakota rating –

Ohio

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required but some restrictions in vehicles and liquor establishments.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Ohio gun laws
Ohio rating –

Oklahoma

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	No	Requires a carry permit for handguns.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Oklahoma gun laws
Oklahoma rating –

Oregon

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	Yes	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Sales must be through a licensed dealer.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Oregon gun laws
Oregon rating –

Pennsylvania

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	Yes	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	All places except Philadelphia or in a vehicle.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	No	All sales must be made through a licensed dealer or county sheriffs office.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Pennsylvania gun laws
Pennsylvania rating –

Rhode Island

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue and May Issue.
Purchase permit required	Yes	No	Must pass a safety exam and then will be issued a “Blue Card” to purchase.
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	For handguns only if you have a permit issued by the Attorney General. No permit is required for long guns.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Rhode Island gun laws
Rhode Island Laws rating –

South Carolina

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	No	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: South Carolina gun laws
South Carolina laws rating –

South Dakota

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Firearm must be clearly visible in vehicle.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: South Dakota gun laws
South Dakota laws rating –

Tennessee

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	Requires a permit for handguns. Long guns must be unloaded if openly carried.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Tennessee gun laws
Tennessee laws rating –

Texas

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Texas gun laws
Texas laws rating –

Utah

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	Yes	Policy is Shall Issue. A loaded handgun can be carried in a vehicle without a permit but a permit is required outside the vehicle.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required if gun is two actions from being fired. A permit is required if there is ammunition in the chamber.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Utah gun laws
Utah laws rating –

Vermont

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No	No	Vermont has never issued or required gun permits.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Sales must be done through licensed dealer, unless sale is to family member.
Magazine size restriction	Yes	Yes	Longuns no more that 10 rounds, handguns no more than 15 rounds

Main article: Vermont gun laws
Vermont laws rating –

Virginia

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Virginia gun laws
Virginia laws rating –

Washington

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	Yes	No	Firearms dealers must report all handgun sales to the police.
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required unless it is a loaded handgun in a vehicle. Long guns must be unloaded to openly carry in a vehicle.
Background checks on private gun sales required	Yes	Yes	Sales must go through a licensed dealer.
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Washington gun laws
Washington laws rating –

West Virginia

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No	No	Policy is Unrestricted.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: West Virginia gun laws
West Virginia laws rating –

Wisconsin

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	Yes	No	Policy is Shall Issue.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit required to openly carry a handgun or long gun.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Wisconsin gun laws
Wisconsin laws rating –

Wyoming

Subject	Handguns	Long Guns	Notes
Carry permit required	No	No	Residents do not need a permit to open or conceal carry. Non-residents will require a permit to conceal carry. Policy is Unrestricted.
Purchase permit required	No	No
Registration of firearm	No	No
Open carry allowed	Yes	Yes	No permit is required for residents or non-residents.
Background checks on private gun sales required	No	No
Magazine size restriction	No	No

Main article: Wyoming gun laws
Wyoming laws rating –

Overview of State Gun Laws

Gun laws in the US vary considerably between states. The majority of legislation relating to guns is enacted at the state level and these laws are independent of Federal firearms laws. This has resulted in a broad variation of gun laws in all the US states with each state taking a different approach on issues such as permits, carry laws, sales, and self-defense laws.

In some states the firearms laws can be much less restrictive than federal laws. However, individuals are not exempt from federal laws just because the state laws are less restrictive. In most cases it is left to the discretion of local law enforcement as to whether they will enforce federal laws. The Supreme court has ruled in Printz v United States that local law enforcement are not obligated to enforce federal firearms laws.

There are forty states that have a provision that protects the right to own and bear firearms, similar to the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. Some of the states that do not have this protection are California, Minnesota, Maryland, Iowa, New Jersey and New York.

Firearm Carry Laws

There are two ways firearms are carried in the United States, concealed carry and open carry. The names are self descriptive with an open carried firearm being visible to everyone and a concealed carry firearm being hidden from view. No federal law has ever covered the issuance of permits to carry firearms in the United States.

It has been left to all the 50 individual states in the US to determine how they will issue permits or if a permit is even required to openly or conceal carry firearms. All states will allow in theory the carry of firearms. However, there are some states that make the application process so difficult that in practice a regular citizen is banned from having a handgun. These states are usually the ones that have a “May Issue” policy such as Hawaii, California, New York and a few more.

Concealed carry

Concealed carry laws are mostly grouped into three categories or issue policies. Up until recently there was four categories but the fourth category “No Issue” has all but been banned from the US by court rulings that it was unconstitutional. The three other categories are;

Unrestricted – Does not require a permit to carry a firearm and is often referred to as Constitutional Carry.
Shall Issue – Requires a permit to carry a firearm. Applicant only has to meet the requirements set by law such as minimum age, training, background checks etc.
May Issue – Again a carry permit is required but laws can be restrictive and in some states impossible to comply with. Often an applicant will be asked to demonstrate a justifiable need for a permit to be issued. It is left to the discretion of law enforcement as to whether a permit to carry will be issued and a few states such as Hawaii will refuse to issue a permit to anyone.

The May Issue states are slowly disappearing with court rulings against their gun policies. Recently (June 2017) the District of Columbia was forced to switch from a May Issue to Shall Issue policy by the federal courts, and that was a final ruling. So the remaining May Issue states days are numbered.

Open Carry

The laws vary greatly for each state with states that do not have an open carry law or require a permit to an outright ban on open carry. In the states that have no open carry law you will often find that the local authorities have ordinances in place to regulate the open carrying of firearms.

There are often exceptions in some states that ban open carry such as Florida which allows open carry while hunting, hiking or fishing. New York and Illinois also have similar exceptions. Then there are other states like Texas that will ban handguns from being openly carried but not long guns.

Firearm Sales & Purchases

Permits to purchase a firearm are required in some states. These permits can just cover handguns or be extended to long guns and ammunition in the more restrictive states. Illinois requires a buyer to have a FOID card to purchase any firearm or ammunition although lately they have allowed concealed carry permits to be used for purchases. But the buyer must still have been issued a FOID card. Other states will also often allow a concealed carry license to be used as a purchase permit. Background checks are required by federal law on all persons purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer. To facilitate these checks the FBI maintains a database where all requests are processed through called the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System).

Private Sales Loophole

The background checks do not extend to private sales of firearms. To close this loophole there are currently 18 states that have enacted legislation to extend the background check law to cover private sales. These laws usually require firearm sales to be processed through a licensed dealer or the local police. A number of states only apply these laws to handguns while others cover both handguns and long guns. A more in depth look at private gun sales with a list of requirements per state can be found on our statistics page.

The states that currently require a background check on private gun sales are;
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington

Firearm Registration

Most states in the U.S. do not require registration of guns and there is no Federal program to register guns. In fact under Federal law a national gun registry is illegal and eight states also have bans on any gun registry. There are at least four states and one district that have setup a registry for guns, the states are;

California, Hawaii, Maryland, New York and the District of Columbia.

Other states as listed below do not have an official gun registry but collect data on sales.

States With Gun Registries

States With Official Gun Registries

California – The registry is maintained by the California Department of Justice and keeps information on buyers and sellers plus any firearms imported into the state. Information maintained is serial numbers, fingerprints, names, and addresses. The information is collected on handguns and long guns however if a gun was owned before 1991 there is no requirement to register it.
District of Columbia – All handguns and long guns are required to be registered with the Metropolitan Police.
Hawaii – All firearms must be registered within a 5 day period from when they are brought into the state or purchased with the county police chief.
Maryland – Only applies to handguns and automatic weapons which are required to be registered with the state police.
New York – Only applies to handguns which must be registered. There is a fee of $3 for registration and it is an offense to possess an unregistered handgun.

States That Collect Data on Gun Sales

Michigan – All sales of handguns must be registered with local law enforcement.
New Jersey – A copy of all purchase permits are sent to the New Jersey state police who maintain a record of all handgun transfers.
Washington -Licensed dealers are required to report all sales of handguns to the Department of Licensing and local law enforcement.

Stand Your Ground Laws

Stand Your Ground, commonly known as “Castle Doctrine” laws that permit a person to defend themselves with deadly force and with no duty to retreat have been enacted in 27 states. These laws vary from state to state in the conditions that it may be used such as the degree of retreat, places covered and if there is any non lethal force required before using deadly force. Most of these laws will have some of the following conditions;

An attempt to forcibly and unlawfully enter an occupied vehicle, business or residence.
The intruder cannot have been provoked by the occupants of the home.
There must be a reasonable belief by the occupants of the home the the intruder will cause death or serious bodily harm to them. There are a few states that allow stand your ground laws to be used for less serious felonies such as burglaries or arson.
The intruder is required by most of these laws to be acting unlawfully.
These laws cannot be used against law enforcement officers who are legally carrying out there duties. Such as when they are forcibly entering a premises to arrest a person.

To use the law occupants must be legally in the building or vehicle. If they are a fugitive or helping another fugitive then they cannot defend themselves with deadly force.

Duty to Retreat

Some states require that a person must first retreat if attacked and only use deadly force in there is no option of retreat or retreat would put the person in danger.

If a Castle Doctrine law is in place a threatened person is not required to retreat from a place of work or their own house and in some states this extends to any place a person is legally entitled to be.

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