State
Alabama
Alabama has some of the weakest gun laws in the country and the fourth-highest gun death rate. Lawmakers must stop disregarding the safety of their constituents and take action.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Alaska
Alaska has some of the weakest gun laws in the country and the sixth highest gun death rate, which can only be reversed by enacting the gun safety policies proven to save lives.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Arizona
Arizona’s weak gun safety laws put its residents at risk. State lawmakers have an obligation to act—immediately—to protect their communities from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Arkansas
Arkansas has some of the weakest gun laws in the country and the ninth-highest gun death rate. State lawmakers must act to close loopholes and enact lifesaving reforms.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
California
Overall, California has the strongest gun safety laws in the nation and has been a trailblazer for gun safety reform for the past 30 years.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: A
State
Colorado
Colorado lawmakers have enacted a number of strong gun safety laws, despite facing reactionary recall petitions, and should keep up the fight to save lives.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: B
State
Connecticut
After the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, Connecticut enacted a host of gun safety laws and now has some of the strongest laws in the country.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: A-
State
Delaware
Delaware has stronger gun safety laws than many other states, but is still missing key policies that can further protect its residents.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: B
State
Florida
In the wake of the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida significantly improved its gun laws, but still has a long way to go.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C-
State
Georgia
Georgia has very weak gun laws and is a major exporter of crime guns to other states. Lawmakers have an obligation to do more to save lives from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Hawaii
Hawaii has taken courageous steps to protect its residents, enacting some of the strongest gun laws in the country and setting an example for other states.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: A-
State
Idaho
Idaho lacks many basic gun safety protections and has weakened its gun laws in recent years. State lawmakers must take immediate action to reverse this deadly trend.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Illinois
Illinois has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, and much of its gun violence is due to guns trafficked in from neighboring states with weak laws.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: A-
State
Indiana
Though Indiana has enacted a few gun safety policies, it has unacceptably weak gun laws overall. State lawmakers must do more to protect their constituents.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: D-
State
Iowa
Iowa’s lawmakers recently repealed key gun safety measures, and must do much more to close loopholes and keep guns from being used irresponsibly.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Kansas
Kansas lawmakers have failed their communities, refusing to pass even the most basic gun safety laws or to close deadly loopholes that enable gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Kentucky
Kentucky’s lack of basic gun safety laws and adoption of reckless, gun lobby–backed policies critically endangers public safety.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Louisiana
Louisiana has some of the country’s weakest gun laws and has repeatedly suffered some of the highest gun death rates. Enacting even modest gun safety legislation would go a long way to improve community safety in the state.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Maine
Maine’s lack of basic gun safety laws puts its residents at grave risk, and lawmakers owe it to their communities to stand up to this crisis.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Maryland
Maryland has enacted strong gun safety laws, though some of this lifesaving progress is undermined by guns trafficked in from states with weaker laws.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: A-
State
Massachusetts
Massachusetts has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and leads the nation in investing in community violence intervention strategies.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: A-
State
Michigan
Michigan has enacted several critical gun safety measures in recent years, but is still missing a number of lifesaving policies that can combat gun violence in the state.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C+
State
Minnesota
Minnesota has enacted modest gun safety measures in recent years, but is still missing a number of lifesaving policies that can combat gun violence in the state.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C+
State
Mississippi
Mississippi has the weakest gun laws in the country and the highest gun death rate. Lawmakers must stop failing their communities and take action to save lives.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Missouri
Missouri has appallingly weak gun laws and one of the country’s highest gun death rates. Lawmakers owe it to residents to start putting the safety of their communities first.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Montana
Montana’s lack of even the most basic gun safety laws puts its residents at enormous risk, and the failure of state lawmakers to save lives from gun violence is unconscionable.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Nebraska
Nebraska has enacted modest gun safety measures, but can do much more to protect its communities from entirely preventable gun deaths.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C-
State
Nevada
In the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, Nevada acted to significantly strengthen its gun safety laws, but still has much more it can do to save lives.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C+
State
New Hampshire
New Hampshire lacks many basic gun safety protections, and in fact has weakened its gun laws in recent years—state lawmakers must reverse this deadly trend.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
New Jersey
New Jersey has taken decisive action to protect its residents, setting an example for other states by enacting some of the country’s strongest gun laws.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: A
State
New Mexico
In recent years, New Mexico has taken important steps to improve its gun laws, but still has significant room for improvement when it comes to fighting gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C
State
New York
New York has taken bold action to save lives from gun violence and serves as a national model for many gun safety policies and programs.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: A-
State
North Carolina
North Carolina’s weak gun laws put its residents at risk. Lawmakers must do better to reduce gun violence in their state and save lives.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C-
State
North Dakota
North Dakota’s lack of basic gun safety laws puts its residents at risk. State lawmakers must take immediate action to protect children and adults alike from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Ohio
Ohio has weak gun laws and a correspondingly high gun death rate. State lawmakers owe it to their constituents to do more to protect communities.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: D
State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma lacks many basic gun safety protections, and in fact has weakened its gun laws in recent years. Lawmakers must take immediate action to reverse this deadly trend.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Oregon
Oregon voters enacted a strong gun safety ballot initiative in 2022 and the state has meaningfully reformed its gun laws in recent years. Oregon’s laws are still generally weaker than its neighbors in CA and WA, however.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: B-
State
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has made modest improvements to its gun safety laws in recent years, but can do much more to protect residents from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: B-
State
Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s gun safety laws are more comprehensive than most other states, but lawmakers can still do more to save lives from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: B
State
South Carolina
South Carolina has some of the weakest gun laws in the country. State lawmakers must take immediate action to protect residents from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
South Dakota
South Dakota lacks many fundamental gun safety protections and in fact has weakened its gun laws in recent years, putting its residents at grave risk.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Tennessee
Tennessee’s gun laws are weak and its gun death rate is high. State legislators have an obligation to enact the laws proven to save lives from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Texas
In recent years, Texas has suffered some of the deadliest mass shooting incidents in modern US history, yet Texas lawmakers have responded by continuing to weaken the state’s most basic gun safety laws.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Utah
Utah has weak gun laws overall and a correspondingly high gun death rate. Lawmakers owe it to their constituents to take action to reduce gun violence in their state.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Vermont
In recent years Vermont significantly strengthened its gun laws, but still has much more to do to better protect its residents from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C-
State
Virginia
In 2021, Virginia enacted a strong package of strong gun safety laws, but there remains much more the state should do to protect its communities from gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: B
State
Washington
In recent years, Washington has made significant progress on gun safety, passing a number of lifesaving pieces of firearm legislation.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: B
State
West Virginia
West Virginia has shamefully weak gun laws and one of the highest gun death rates in the United States. Lawmakers must take immediate action to reverse this deadly trend.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
State
Wisconsin
While Wisconsin has enacted several basic gun safety laws, the state still lacks a number of key policies that would go a long way toward reducing gun violence.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: C-
State
Wyoming
Wyoming has some of the weakest gun laws in the country. Adopting proven gun safety policies would save a significant number of lives.
Gun Law Scorecard Grade: F
SPOTLIGHT
GUN LAW SCORECARD
The data is clear: states with stronger gun laws have less gun violence. See how your state compares in our annual ranking.
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MAKE A GIFT
Every day, the experts at Giffords Law Center work tirelessly to craft, enact, and defend the gun safety policies and programs that save lives. A safer America is within reach, but we need your courage and commitment to get there.