Which US states have the strictest/ most liberal gun laws?

Answer 1

Most liberal = Vermont and Alaska, no need for a permit to carry a gun in public.

Strictest = Wisconsin, Illinois, and Washington D.C., where it's illegal to carry a concealed weapon, followed by Hawaii (where it's illegal but for extremely rare exceptions). Maryland is also high on the 'strict' list.

Answer 2

Most liberal: Alaska, Arizona, Vermont
Strictest: Hawaii, Illinois, Mass.

I kept it simple. Most states fall somewhere in the middle and you cannot go just by concealed carry! This is very misleading. Ohio has pretty good laws (not very strict). D.C. is not a state, so people should not reply with it as an example.

Answer 3

Illinois is by far the strictest. when you buy a gun you have to Pass a background check, wait a day (3 for handguns), and have to have your FOID card. Its horrible. They are also strict on endangered animals and guns you can shoot. No rifles on deer, no beaver hunting, no bobcat hunting, and deer season is really short compared to other states. It just plain sucks to hunt here.

Answer 4

Check the crime statistics; the states where the citizens are free to own and use firearms have low crime rates. States where the citizens are disarmed have high crime rates; as criminals pay no attention to the law and there is not a cop to protect each and every citizen. Eastern states and california are places you place your life in jeapordy by living there; western states are quite safe.

Answer 5

CA won't let you carry unless you have political connections or live in the boonies with a friendly sheriff.

CA also has magazine capacity restrictions (10 rounds) and an assault weapon ban.

Think the Federal AWB, except in California we never had the sunset because we have our own lame version of it.

Answer 6

In response to one post, you CAN have firearms in New York. Handguns are just banned in NYC.

Arizona is an open carry state, meaning you can carry a handgun (actually, I believe any weapon) without a permit, so long as it is at least partially visible. Unlike Alaska, they do issue non-resident permits.

I'd say the first thing to look at is whether a state is shall issue or may issue. There are 35 states that are shall issue, which are: AK, AZ, AR, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IN, KY, LA, ME, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, and WY.

Now, that list may surprise you, as there are some blue states on there you wouldn't suspect, and some red states that aren't on there that you would expect. For instance, who'd have though Alabama wouldn't be shall issue, but that the elite liberal Northeastern states would?

Now, don't worry TOO much Alabamans, the Brady Campaign still gives you an F on their report card. Included with AL in the F category are KY, LA, MS, MT, NM, and WY. Out of those, I'll rule out AL since it isn't a shall issue state. The rest are all pretty firearm friendly, but WY receives the worst overall grade from the Brady Campaign.

WY - all F's except a D- in CCW laws, as there is training required. However, a CCW may be issued at 18-years old. This is probably the most firearm friendly state. No juvenile possession law, no juvenile sale/transfer laws, no child prevention access laws, no safety locks required or safer design standards, doesn't allow cities to regulate firearms, no secondary "private" background checks, is shall issue (already mentioned), and it has a pretty expansive reciprocity. You may carry a loaded firearm in a vehicle without a permit, firearms do not have to be registered with police, no limit on purchases, no limitations on "assault weapons" or magazines, no background checks at gun shows, no permit to purchase a handgun, and no waiting period. However, you are prohibited from carrying a firearm on school grounds, courthouses, police departments, etc., and cities do have the ability to sue gun manufacturers. I also don't know for sure if open carry is permitted.

Generally speaking, any shall issue state is pretty liberal on firearms legislation, and any may issue state is pretty strict.

The most strict would probably be CA and NY, with MD and IL close behind, in my opinion.

Obviously, individual interpretation of how strict or liberal a state's firearms legistlation is will vary with the individual(s) looking at the legislation. AK is a pretty liberal state with respects to firearms legislation, but the Brady Campaign gives it an F+. Most notably, AK allows the attorney general to regulate firearms, there is a minimum age of 16 for possession of firearms (although at 16 you can possess handguns and "assault weapons"), it is illegal to sell firearms to minors, cities do have the right to enact firearms legislation that is tougher than the state's legislation through local ballot initiatives, and you may not carry a firearm on school grounds. Of course, and here's the big one in my book, no CCW permits exist, so obviously none are required.

TX is also pretty lenient, although not necessarily as much as AK.

Overall, it isn't too hard to figure out which states would be most lenient, and which would be most strict. The northeast is relatively lenient despite being a pretty big liberal bastion. I think there's still a pretty strong "rebel" streak there due to pride in being at the forefront of the American Revolution. States like PA are kind of in the middle, as there is somewhat of a halfway point that is met between the very liberal (politically) cities, and the extremely conservative (politically) rest of the state. These are your blue states that are basically only blue because of the voting districts in very large cities (such as Philadelphia in PA). Then of course you have your hardcore hippie states like NY and CA, which you KNOW are going to be very strict with firearms legislation, despite and flirting with "Republican" governors. And then your hardcore red states, such as TX, WY, AK, and so on, where they pride themselves on their conservative nature.

Answer 7

New Mexico also has an open carry law left over from the old west days.

With Bill Richardson as governer and all the pansy, knee-jerk liberals moving in from the People's Republic of California, we are just one shooting incident away from having Fascist laws in place though.......

Answer 8

California,Illinois,New Jersey,Washington DC but its not a state

Answer 9

Maybe Alaska...I know when I was a kid driving to school my Dad kept 2 rifles in a rack in the back window . Not sure if it is still like that but they didnt care much about it then

Answer 10

New york is one of them, No guns allowed, thats why there is so much crime.......and shootings. because the criminals are sneaking in guns and stealing them......and they know they rule Every honest man.........good going liberal hippies.........good going. they need to go smoke pot and die in a corner for their stupiditiy.