The U.S. federal government has limited control over gun laws because we have the 2nd amendment which states “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.“
Some states have minimal regulations, embracing open-carry laws allowing public firearm display. Others permit only concealed carry, with the strictest states requiring background checks and training for gun purchases.
The ranking for the strictest gun laws is determined based on specific criteria. This includes the Gifford Grade, which assigns scores to these laws based on their effectiveness or inadequacy. Throughout the year, their expert legal team analyzes legislation in all 50 states in order to identify the effectiveness of the gun laws in each one of them.
Based on their analysis, they further organized each state’s ranking and assigned letter grades from A to F accordingly. These grades are then compared with the latest CDC gun death data to see if strict gun laws lead to fewer deaths. Data collected over the past 13 years reveals a negative correlation between strict laws and deaths caused by firearms; stricter gun laws result in fewer deaths.
This list goes from the states with the most relaxed gun laws all the way down to the strictest states.
1. Wyoming
- Gun Strength Rank: 50 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 11 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 20.6
- % Difference From National Average: ↑44%
In the first spot, Wyoming has an F for gun laws.
2. Arkansas
- Gun Strength Rank: 49 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 8 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 22.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↑54%
Coming in second, Arkansas has an F for gun laws.
3. Missouri
- Gun Strength Rank: 48 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 6 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 24.4
- % Difference From National Average: ↑70%
Missouri, in the Midwestern region of the United States, has an F for gun laws.
4. Kentucky
- Gun Strength Rank: 47 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 16 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 18.9
- % Difference From National Average: ↑32%
Kentucky has an F for gun laws with the fourth rank.
5. Idaho
- Gun Strength Rank: 46 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 18 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 17.5
- % Difference From National Average: ↑22%
With an area of 83,570 square miles, Idaho has an F for gun laws.
6. Montana
- Gun Strength Rank: 45 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 5 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 24.5
- % Difference From National Average: ↑71%
Montana has also been given an F for gun laws.
7. Mississippi
- Gun Strength Rank: 44 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 1 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 29.7
- % Difference From National Average: ↑107%
The southern state of Mississippi has an F for gun laws.
8. South Dakota
- Gun Strength Rank: 43 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 24 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 16.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↑12%
South Dakota has an F for gun laws.
9. Kansas
- Gun Strength Rank: 42 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 21 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 17.0
- % Difference From National Average: ↑18%
Kansas has an F for gun laws.
10. Arizona
- Gun Strength Rank: 41 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 12 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 20.5
- % Difference From National Average: ↑43%
The fourteenth most populated of all the states, Arizona has an F for gun laws.
11. Alaska
- Gun Strength Rank: 40 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 7 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 22.7
- % Difference From National Average: ↑58%
Coming in at eleventh, Alaska has an F for gun laws.
12. Tennessee
- Gun Strength Rank: 39 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 10 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 20.9
- % Difference From National Average: ↑46%
Tennessee has an F for gun laws.
13. West Virginia
- Gun Strength Rank: 35 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 23 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 16.4
- % Difference From National Average: ↑14%
West Virginia has an F for gun laws.
14. Oklahoma
- Gun Strength Rank: 35 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 13 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 20.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↑40%
Ranking fourteenth is Oklahoma, which has an F for gun laws.
15. North Dakota
- Gun Strength Rank: 35 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 22 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 16.5
- % Difference From National Average: ↑15%
North Dakota has an F for gun laws.
16. Alabama
- Gun Strength Rank: 35 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 4 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 25.9
- % Difference From National Average: ↑80%
Alabama, a southeastern U.S. state, has an F for gun laws.
17. Iowa
- Gun Strength Rank: 34 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 41 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 11.3
- % Difference From National Average: ↓22%
Iowa has an F for gun laws.
18. Georgia
- Gun Strength Rank: 33 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 14 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 20.0
- % Difference From National Average: ↑39%
Georgia has an F for gun laws.
19. Louisiana
- Gun Strength Rank: 32 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 2 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 28.2
- % Difference From National Average: ↑96%
Coming in at nineteen, Louisiana has an F for gun laws.
20. Texas
- Gun Strength Rank: 31 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 25 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 15.7
- % Difference From National Average: ↑9%
At 268,596 square miles, Texas has an F for gun laws.
21. Utah
- Gun Strength Rank: 30 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 34 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 14.0
- % Difference From National Average: ↓2%
Utah has an F for gun laws.
22. South Carolina
- Gun Strength Rank: 28 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 9 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 21.3
- % Difference From National Average: ↑48%
Home to the city of Columbia, South Carolina, has a D- for gun laws.
23. New Hampshire
- Gun Strength Rank: 28 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 42 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 10.3
- % Difference From National Average: ↓28%
New Hampshire has a D- for gun laws.
24. Maine
- Gun Strength Rank: 27 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 40 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 12.0
- % Difference From National Average: ↓17%
Positioned at twenty-fourth, Maine has a D- for gun laws.
25. Ohio
- Gun Strength Rank: 25 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 26 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 15.7
- % Difference From National Average: ↑9%
Coming in at twenty-fifth, Ohio has a D- for gun laws.
26. Indiana
- Gun Strength Rank: 25 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 17 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 17.6
- % Difference From National Average: ↑22%
Indiana has a D- for gun laws.
27. Florida
- Gun Strength Rank: 24 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 31 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 14.4
- % Difference From National Average: 0%
Florida has a D+ for gun laws.
28. Nebraska
- Gun Strength Rank: 23 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 37 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 12.3
- % Difference From National Average: ↓14%
With over 77,220 square miles, Nebraska has a C- for gun laws.
29. North Carolina
- Gun Strength Rank: 22 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 20 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 17.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↑19%
Coming in at twenty-ninth, North Carolina has a C- for gun laws.
30. Wisconsin
- Gun Strength Rank: 21 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 33 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 14.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↓2%
Wisconsin has a C for gun laws.
31. New Mexico
- Gun Strength Rank: 20 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 3 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 27.5
- % Difference From National Average: ↑91%
The fifth-largest state in the US, New Mexico, has a C+ for gun laws.
32. Nevada
- Gun Strength Rank: 19 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 15 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 19.3
- % Difference From National Average: ↑34%
Nevada has a B- for gun laws.
33. Vermont
- Gun Strength Rank: 18 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 38 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 12.2
- % Difference From National Average: ↓15%
With a rank of thirty-three, Vermont has a B- for gun laws.
34. Michigan
- Gun Strength Rank: 17 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 27 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 15.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↑5%
Positioned at thirty-fourth, Michigan has a B- for gun laws.
35. Pennsylvania
- Gun Strength Rank: 16 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 29 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 14.8
- % Difference From National Average: ↑3%
Pennsylvania has a B for gun laws.
36. Minnesota
- Gun Strength Rank: 15 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 43 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 9.7
- % Difference From National Average: ↓33%
Minnesota has a B for gun laws.
37. Virginia
- Gun Strength Rank: 14 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 28 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 15.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↑5%
With 8.642 million people, Virginia has a B+ for gun laws.
38. Delaware
- Gun Strength Rank: 13 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 39 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 12.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↓15%
With the thirty-eighth position, Delaware has a B+ for gun laws.
39. Rhode Island
- Gun Strength Rank: 12 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 50 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 3.1
- % Difference From National Average: ↓78%
Coming in at thirty-ninth, Rhode Island has a B+ for gun laws.
40. Oregon
- Gun Strength Rank: 11 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 30 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 14.6
- % Difference From National Average: ↑2%
Located in the Pacific region, Oregon has an A- for gun laws.
41. Colorado
- Gun Strength Rank: 10 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 19 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 17.3
- % Difference From National Average: ↑20%
Colorado has an A- for gun laws.
42. Washington
- Gun Strength Rank: 9 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 36 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 12.6
- % Difference From National Average: ↓12%
Washington has an A- for gun laws.
43. Maryland
- Gun Strength Rank: 8 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 35 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 13.6
- % Difference From National Average: ↑5%
Maryland has an A- for having stringent gun regulations.
44. Massachusetts
- Gun Strength Rank: 7 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 49 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 3.7
- % Difference From National Average: ↓74%
Coming in at the forty-fourth position, Massachusetts has an A- for gun laws.
45. Hawaii
- Gun Strength Rank: 6 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 48 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 4.5
- % Difference From National Average: ↓69%
The island state of Hawaii has an A- for gun laws.
46. New York
- Gun Strength Rank: 5 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 46 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 5.3
- % Difference From National Average: ↓63%
New York has an A- for gun laws.
47. Illinois
- Gun Strength Rank: 4 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 32 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 14.4
- % Difference From National Average: 0%
Illinois has an A- for gun laws.
48. Connecticut
- Gun Strength Rank: 3 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 45 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 7
- % Difference From National Average: ↓51%
The state with one of the most strict gun laws, Connecticut, has an A for gun laws.
49. New Jersey
- Gun Strength Rank: 2 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 47 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 5.0
- % Difference From National Average: ↓65%
At the forty-ninth position, New Jersey has an A for gun laws.
50. California
- Gun Strength Rank: 1 out of 50
- Gun Death Rate Rank: 44 out of 50
- Gun Deaths Per 100k: 8.7
- % Difference From National Average: ↓40%
With over 38.9 million residents, California has an A for gun laws.
