Getting a passing grade is a matter of life and death. Is your state doing enough?
California
A
Gun Law Strength: 1of 50 states
Gun Death Rank: 44of 50 states
Stronger Gun Laws, Fewer Gun Deaths
State Gun Death Rates in Order of Gun Law Strength
National Average Gun Death Rate per 100K: 11.9
CA
NJ
CT
HI
NY
MD
MA
IL
RI
WA
DE
VA
PA
MN
CO
OR
NV
NM
NE
IA
MI
WI
VT
FL
NC
OH
IN
UT
TN
NH
SC
GA
ME
TX
MT
LA
AL
ND
OK
AR
WV
AK
KS
SD
AZ
KY
MO
ID
WY
MS
A
B
C
D
F
California’s Gun Death Rate per 100K people: 7.22
Alabama has very weak gun laws and has not enacted meaningful gun safety legislation in recent years. Instead, in 2020, the state took steps to loosen restrictions on carrying firearms in houses of worship. Alabama has the country’s fifth-highest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, Alabama lawmakers should pass laws requiring background checks and waiting periods for all firearm sales, and invest in community violence intervention programs.
Alaska lacks many basic gun safety laws and has the highest gun death rate in the nation. Despite its distance from the rest of the country, Alaska is a top supplier of guns used in crimes to other states. Lawmakers in Alaska should save lives by passing a law requiring background checks for all firearm sales and passing an extreme risk protection order law.
Arizona has some of the weakest gun laws in the nation. The state has the 16th-highest gun death rate and exports guns used in crimes at more than twice the national rate. To protect its residents from gun violence, Arizona should enact an extreme risk protection order law, require background checks on all gun purchases, strengthen domestic violence protections, and prohibit violent hate crime offenders from accessing guns.
Arkansas has some of the weakest gun laws in the country and the ninth-highest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, Arkansas should pass laws requiring background checks and waiting periods for all firearm sales and prohibit people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from possessing firearms.
California has the strongest gun laws in the United States and often leads the way in enacting new approaches to gun safety. The state has the seventh-lowest gun death rate in the country. To further strengthen its gun laws, California should increase funding for community violence prevention programs and strengthen firearm removal processes for people subject to court protective orders.
Colorado has stronger gun laws than many states, but still has significant room for improvement. The state has the 18th-highest gun death rate. To save lives, lawmakers in Colorado should pass laws requiring waiting periods for all firearm sales, enact a child access prevention law, require the reporting of lost and stolen guns, raise the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21, and prohibit violent hate crime offenders from accessing guns.
Connecticut has some of the strongest gun laws in the country. The state has the sixth-lowest gun death rate and a low rate of exporting guns used in crimes to other states. To further strengthen its gun laws, Connecticut should increase funding for community violence intervention programs and strengthen laws surrounding the removal of firearms from those who become prohibited from owning them.
Delaware has stronger gun laws than most states. The state has the 11th-lowest gun death rate. To further strengthen its gun laws, Delaware should require a license to purchase a firearm, direct funding to community-driven violence intervention strategies in underserved communities, and prohibit undetectable and untraceable firearms (also known as ghost guns).
In 2018, Florida passed a package of gun safety laws following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but has since taken steps to weaken its laws. The state has the 25th-lowest gun death rate in the country. To save lives from gun violence, Florida legislators should require a background check on all firearm sales, expand domestic violence firearm protections to include dating partners, and direct funding to community-driven violence intervention programs.
Georgia has very weak gun laws. The state has the 14th-highest gun death rate, and guns used in crimes in other states originate in Georgia at more than twice the national rate. To save lives from gun violence, Georgia should require background checks and waiting periods on all firearm purchases and prohibit people convicted of domestic violence from possessing firearms.
Hawaii has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation, and took action in 2020 to strengthen regulations around untraceable and undetectable firearms (also known as ghost guns). The state has the fourth-lowest gun death rate. To further strengthen its gun laws, Hawaii should further regulate ghost guns and restrict bulk purchases of firearms.
Idaho has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and took action to expand its dangerous permitless carry law in 2020. The state has the 19th-highest gun death rate in the country. To save lives from gun violence, lawmakers should require background checks on all firearm purchases and enact an extreme risk protection order law to allow for the temporary removal of firearms from individuals in crisis.
Illinois has stronger gun laws than the majority of the country and the 16th-lowest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, lawmakers should strengthen the state’s licensing requirements, improve laws related to the removal of firearms from those who become prohibited from owning them, and increase funding for community violence intervention programs.
In 2020, Indiana strengthened its anti-trafficking law and its law regarding firearm possession by people convicted of serious offenses as minors. The state has the 20th-highest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, Indiana should require a background check and waiting period for all firearm sales.
Iowa has some gun safety laws, but still has significant room for progress. The state has the ninth-lowest gun death rate and is a net exporter of guns used in crime in other states. To save lives from gun violence, Iowa legislators should pass an extreme risk protection order law and require a background check and waiting period for purchasing all firearms, not just handguns.
Kansas has some of the weakest gun laws in the country. The state has the 21st-highest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, lawmakers should make it harder for individuals who commit domestic violence and violent hate crimes to access guns, repeal the state’s dangerous permitless carry law, and pass an extreme risk protection order law to facilitate the temporary removal of guns from individuals in crisis.
Kentucky has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and further weakened these laws in 2020 by requiring school resource officers to carry firearms on the grounds of K–12 schools. The state has the 17th-highest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, Kentucky should require background checks and waiting periods on all gun sales and strengthen domestic violence protections.
Louisiana has some of the weakest gun laws in the nation and further weakened these laws in 2020 by expanding the ability of concealed carry permit holders to bring guns into houses of worship. The state has the sixth-highest gun death rate. Policies lawmakers should consider to save lives from gun violence include funding community violence intervention programs and requiring background checks on all gun sales.
Maine has generally weak gun laws. The state has the 17th-lowest gun death rate in the country. To protect residents from gun violence, lawmakers in Maine should repeal the state’s dangerous permitless carry law, require background checks on all gun sales, enact an extreme risk protection order law, and strengthen domestic violence protections.
Maryland has some of the strongest gun laws in the country. The state has the 23rd-lowest gun death rate and imports guns used in crimes from other states at the highest rate in the country. To further strengthen its gun laws, Maryland legislators should prohibit undetectable and untraceable firearms (also known as ghost guns) and increase funding for community violence intervention programs.
Massachusetts has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and leads the nation in investing state funds to support evidence-based community violence intervention strategies. The state has the nation’s lowest gun death rate. To further strengthen its gun laws, Massachusetts legislators should strengthen laws surrounding the removal of firearms from those who become prohibited from owning them, prohibit undetectable and untraceable firearms, and restrict bulk purchases of firearms.
Michigan has significant room for progress when it comes to gun safety. The state has the 20th-lowest gun death rate in the country. To strengthen its gun laws, Michigan should enact an extreme risk protection order law and invest in proven community violence intervention strategies.
Minnesota has enacted modest gun safety measures in recent years. The state has the eighth-lowest gun death rate in the country. Examples of policies lawmakers in Minnesota should implement to save lives include requiring a permit to purchase a firearm, instituting point-of-sale background checks, and enacting an extreme risk protection order law.
Mississippi has the weakest gun laws in the country. The state has the second-highest gun death rate and the highest rate of gun exports later used in crime. To protect lives from gun violence, Mississippi legislators should require background checks and waiting periods before all gun sales, repeal the state’s dangerous permitless carry law, and invest in proven community violence intervention programs.
Missouri has extremely weak gun laws. The state has the seventh-highest gun death rate in the country. Missouri should save lives by investing in proven community violence intervention programs, requiring a background check and waiting period before every gun sale, passing an extreme risk protection order law, and regulating undetectable and untraceable firearms.
Montana has very weak gun laws. The state has the 10th-highest gun death rate in the country and exports guns used in crimes at more than twice the national rate. To save lives from gun violence, Montana legislators should require background checks on all gun sales, strengthen domestic violence protections, and pass an extreme risk protection order law.
Nebraska modestly strengthened its anti-trafficking law in 2020, but the state’s gun laws still have significant room for improvement. The state has the 13th-lowest gun death rate in the country. In addition to expanding the state’s background checks law, Nebraska legislators should pass an extreme risk protection order law and invest in community violence intervention programs.
In recent years, Nevada has made significant progress in its gun safety laws, but the state can still do much more to save lives from gun violence. The state has the 15th-highest gun death rate in the country. To further improve the state’s gun laws, legislators should strengthen domestic violence protections and open carry regulations, prohibit violent hate crime offenders from accessing guns, and require a waiting period before all gun sales.
New Hampshire lacks many basic gun safety laws and has the 14th-lowest gun death rate in the country. To save lives from gun violence, New Hampshire should require a background check and waiting period on all firearm purchases and pass an extreme risk protection order law that allows for the temporary removal of firearms from those who pose an imminent risk to themselves or others.
New Jersey has some of the strongest gun laws in the country. The state has the third-lowest gun death rate and the nation’s lowest export rate of guns used in crimes. To further strengthen New Jersey’s gun laws, legislators should increase funding for proven community violence intervention programs and require firearms to be stored safely when not in use.
New Mexico has strengthened its gun laws in recent years, including enacting an extreme risk protection order law in 2020, which raised the state’s grade from a C to a C+. New Mexico’s gun death rate, the fourth-highest in the country, has not yet caught up to its recently strengthened gun laws. To build on the progress of 2019 and 2020, New Mexico legislators should fund proven community violence intervention programs, prohibit undetectable and untraceable firearms, and enact a law prohibiting violent hate crime offenders from accessing guns.
New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and the second-lowest gun death rate. To continue to improve its gun safety efforts, New York legislators should increase funding for community violence intervention programs and strengthen its laws regulating undetectable and untraceable firearms (also known as ghost guns).
North Carolina has significant room to improve its gun safety laws. The state has the 23rd-highest gun death rate in the country. Improvements North Carolina should make to its gun laws include funding community violence intervention programs and enacting an extreme risk protection order law.
North Dakota has very weak gun laws. The state has the 22nd-lowest gun death rate in the country. To save lives from gun violence, North Dakota should require a background check and waiting period on all gun purchases and enact an extreme risk protection order law, which allows for the temporary removal of firearms from individuals who pose an imminent threat to themselves or others.
Ohio has significant room for improvement with regard to gun safety and recently expanded its dangerous Stand Your Ground law. The state has the 22nd-highest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, Ohio legislators should require universal background checks, implement an extreme risk law, strengthen domestic violence protections, and enact legislation prohibiting violent hate crime offenders from accessing guns.
Oklahoma has very few gun laws and further weakened these laws in 2020 by preempting local governments from enacting extreme risk laws. The state has the 11th-highest gun death rate in the country. To protect residents from gun violence, Oklahoma legislators should enact an extreme risk law, require a background check and waiting period on all gun sales, and strengthen protections against domestic violence and violent hate crimes.
While Oregon has enacted several basic gun safety laws, the state has significant room for improvement. Oregon has the 21st-lowest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, Oregon legislators should require people who live with minors to store their firearms safely and prohibit untraceable and undetectable firearms (also known as ghost guns).
Pennsylvania has enacted modest gun safety laws in recent years but still has significant room for improvement. The state has the 19th-lowest gun death rate in the country. In addition to expanding its background check laws, Pennsylvania legislators should fund community violence intervention programs and pass an extreme risk protection order law.
Rhode Island has relatively strong gun laws, and took critical action in 2020 to strengthen regulations surrounding untraceable and undetectable firearms. The state has the fifth-lowest gun death rate. To help save lives from gun violence, Rhode Island legislators should regulate large-capacity magazines and assault weapons and invest in community violence intervention programs.
South Carolina has very weak gun laws. The state has the eighth-highest gun death rate in the country. To save lives from gun violence, South Carolina should fund community violence intervention programs and require a background check before every gun purchase.
Though the state made minor improvements to its concealed carry permitting law in 2020, South Dakota generally has very weak gun laws. The state has the 24th-highest gun death rate. Steps South Dakota should take to save lives from gun violence include requiring a background check and waiting period before all firearm sales and passing an extreme risk protection order.
Tennessee has weak gun safety laws. The state has the 12th-highest gun death rate in the country. To save lives from gun violence, Tennessee legislators should require a background check and waiting period on all firearm purchases and enact an extreme risk protection order law, which allows for the temporary removal of firearms from people who pose an imminent threat to themselves or others.
Texas has weak gun safety laws. The state has the 24th-lowest gun death rate and is a net exporter of guns used in crimes in other states. In addition to repealing its dangerous campus carry law, Texas legislators should require background checks on all gun sales, enact an extreme risk protection order law, and strengthen domestic violence protections.
Utah has weak gun safety laws. The state has the 25th-highest gun death rate in the country and supplies guns used in crimes to other states at almost twice the rate it imports them. To strengthen Utah’s gun laws, legislators should require background checks for all gun sales and pass an extreme risk protection order law.
After strengthening its gun laws in 2018, Vermont went from the 23rd lowest gun death rate to the 10th-lowest. Vermont legislators should require a waiting period before all gun purchases, strengthen laws that keep guns out of the hands of people convicted of domestic violence, and further close loopholes in its background checks law.
Virginia significantly improved its gun laws in 2020, raising its grade from a D to a B. The state has the 18th-lowest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, Virginia legislators should increase investments in community violence intervention programs, require a permit to purchase a firearm, regulate large-capacity magazines, and strengthen domestic violence protections.
Over the past several years, Washington has significantly strengthened its gun laws. The state has the 15th-lowest gun death rate in the country. To further improve its gun laws, Washington should invest in community violence intervention programs, regulate large-capacity magazines, and require the reporting of lost and stolen guns.
West Virginia has very weak gun laws, which it further weakened in 2020. The state has the 13th-highest gun death rate in the country. Steps West Virginia should take to save lives from gun violence include requiring a background check and waiting period before each gun purchase, passing an extreme risk protection order law, and repealing its dangerous permitless carry law.
While Wisconsin has enacted a handful of gun safety laws, the state still has significant room for improvement. Wisconsin has the 12th-lowest gun death rate in the country. To save lives from gun violence, Wisconsin legislators should fund community violence intervention programs and require background checks for all gun sales.
Wyoming has some of the worst gun laws in the country. The state has the third-highest gun death rate. To save lives from gun violence, Wyoming should require background checks for all gun sales, strengthen domestic violence protections, pass an extreme risk protection order law, and repeal its dangerous permitless concealed carry law.
In 2020, many state legislatures were set to enact ambitious new gun safety laws, but the bulk of these plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After millions took to the streets to demand racial justice this summer, a number of states and cities passed police reform legislation, acknowledging the critical link between policing and gun violence. Underserved communities of color, particularly Black communities, have long borne the brunt of the gun violence epidemic, and in 2020 Black Americans faced increased risk of dying of COVID-19 as well.
To truly build a safer country for all Americans, Congress and the new administration must take decisive action to stop gun violence and address the deadly racial disparities exhibited by the pandemic, police brutality, and community violence. Year after year, our annual Gun Law Scorecard shows that gun laws work—on average, the gun death rates in states with strong gun laws are a fraction of those in states with weak laws. It’s long past time that these proven, lifesaving solutions are enacted everywhere in America.
GUN LAWS SAVE LIVES—WHEN STATES HAVE THE COURAGE TO ENACT THEM
Every State, Ranked
Gun Law Strength (Ranked)
State
2020 Grade
Gun Death Rate (Ranked)
Gun Death Rate (Per 100K)
37
Alabama
F
5
22.17
42
Alaska
F
1
24.49
45
Arizona
F
16
15.05
39
Arkansas
F
9
19.26
1
California
A
44
7.21
15
Colorado
C+
18
14.22
3
Connecticut
A-
45
5.30
11
Delaware
B
40
9.97
24
Florida
C-
26
12.67
32
Georgia
F
14
15.78
4
Hawaii
A-
47
4.46
48
Idaho
F
19
14.16
8
Illinois
A-
35
10.80
27
Indiana
D
20
14.00
20
Iowa
C
42
9.09
43
Kansas
F
21
13.69
46
Kentucky
F
17
14.91
33
Louisiana
F
6
22.13
33
Maine
F
34
11.44
6
Maryland
A-
28
12.56
7
Massachusetts
A-
50
3.39
20
Michigan
C
31
12.04
14
Minnesota
C+
43
8.12
50
Mississippi
F
2
24.23
46
Missouri
F
7
20.52
33
Montana
F
10
18.93
19
Nebraska
C
38
10.22
16
Nevada
C+
15
15.30
30
New Hampshire
F
37
10.54
2
New Jersey
A
48
4.13
18
New Mexico
C+
4
22.27
5
New York
A-
49
3.91
25
North Carolina
D
23
13.06
38
North Dakota
F
29
12.55
25
Ohio
D
22
13.32
39
Oklahoma
F
11
18.58
16
Oregon
C+
30
12.50
13
Pennsylvania
C+
32
11.65
9
Rhode Island
B+
46
4.59
31
South Carolina
F
8
19.80
44
South Dakota
F
24
13.04
29
Tennessee
D-
12
18.34
33
Texas
F
27
12.64
28
Utah
D
25
12.80
23
Vermont
C-
41
9.37
12
Virginia
B
33
11.65
10
Washington
B+
36
10.70
41
West Virginia
F
13
16.62
22
Wisconsin
C-
39
10.04
48
Wyoming
F
3
22.47
An Undeniable Correlation
Annual state gun death rates per 100,000 by gun law strength ranking. As grades worsen, gun death rates increase.
25
20
15
10
5
0
CA
NJ
CT
HI
NY
MD
MA
IL
RI
WA
DE
VA
PA
MN
CO
OR
NV
NM
NE
IA
MI
WI
VT
FL
NC
OH
IN
UT
TN
NH
SC
GA
ME
TX
MT
LA
AL
ND
OK
AR
WV
AK
KS
SD
AZ
KY
MO
ID
WY
MS
< Stronger Laws
Weaker Laws >
1
10
20
30
40
50
A Deadly Racial Disparity
Black Americans have a higher gun death rate than average in all states, a trend that worsens in states with low grades.
Progress Despite a Pandemic
States passed 43 gun safety laws in 13 states in 2020, bringing the total number of laws enacted since the 2018 Parkland shooting to 180. Despite the limitations imposed by COVID-19, the progress made by courageous legislators has been transformative.
In Virginia, lawmakers undeterred by armed protesters made improvements to background checks, child access prevention laws, and more, raising the state’s grade from a D to a B. New Mexico adopted an extreme risk protection order law, despite the objections of rogue, extremist sheriffs, and lifted the state’s grade to a C+. Lawmakers in Rhode Island banned undetectable, untraceable “ghost guns,” and New Jersey funded hospital-based violence intervention programs, which have been proven to break cycles of retaliatory shootings.
COVID-19 may have slowed gun legislation in many states, but the spike in gun violence across the nation in 2020 shows that lawmakers must take bolder steps in 2021 to make our communities safe from gun violence.
GUNS, COVID-19 & THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON BLACK AMERICANS
Community violence surged in cities across the country in 2020, and lockdown orders and economic distress exacerbated the threat of domestic violence and firearm suicide. COVID-19 and gun violence both exact a disproportionate toll on Black Americans. Systemic racism and mismanagement of these two epidemics by our federal government has left our most vulnerable communities especially at risk of suffering tragic outcomes. Sweeping, comprehensive federal action must be taken immediately to address the intersecting crises of systemic racism, COVID-19, and gun violence.
BLACK AMERICANS ARE 1.6X TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE OF COVID-19
134 out of 100K Black Americans COVID-19 Death Rate
83 out of 100K White Americans COVID-19 Death Rate
BLACK AMERICANS ARE 1.9X MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM GUN VIOLENCE
23 out of 100K Black Americans Gun Death Rate
12 out of 100K White Americans Gun Death Rate
The movement for racial justice that swept the country in 2020 after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and far too many others brought renewed attention to the critical links between policing and gun violence. Ensuring law enforcement accountability is the first step in building police-community trust and fostering an environment where citizens don’t have to live in fear of being killed or wounded by a bullet. There is no vaccine for gun violence. Ending this crisis will require sustained work by the new administration, state legislatures, and advocates to fund community violence intervention programs and reform policing practices to create a safer and more just America.
How We Grade the States
Our attorneys track and analyze gun legislation in all 50 states, assigning laws and policies point values based on their respectives strengths or weaknesses. These points are tabulated and the states are ranked and then assigned letter grades. These grades are compared to the most recent gun death rates released by the CDC.
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For over 25 years, the legal experts at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence have been fighting for a safer America by researching, drafting, and defending the laws, policies, and programs proven to reduce shootings. Led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, our mission is simple: save lives from gun violence.