People seem to like using the Brady grades to determine how "gun-friendly" a state is, but those really aren't very good criteria. They basically only tell you how many hoops you have to jump through to buy a gun. So I've made my own grading system, based on ease of getting CCW, and regulation of NFA weapons. Each state gets two grades, based on these two.
For CCW:
A = unrestricted CCW, no permit required
B = Shall-issue (or effectively shall-issue), $10 per year or less for the initial permit
C = Shall-issue (or effectively shall-issue), between $10.01 and $25 per year for the initial permit
D = Shall-issue (or effectively shall-issue), $25.01 or greater per year for the initial permit; or may-issue regardless of cost
E = No-issue (or effectively no-issue)
I could have included things like fingerprint and training requirements, but it seems like additional requirements pretty much only occur in the higher priced states (or the may-issue states). So cost is a very good indicator of the number of hoops you have to jump through, as well.
For NFA:
A = all types of NFA weapons unrestricted at the state level
B = machine guns unrestricted, one other type of weapon restricted
C = machine guns unrestricted, two other types of weapon restricted
D = machine guns only restricted; or three non-machine gun types restricted
E = machine guns and any other types restricted, or greater than 3 non-machine gun types restricted
"Restricted" means any type of restriction whatsoever. For instance, VA requires state registration of all machine guns. That means they get a D. Them's the breaks.
State - CCW - NFA
AL - C - C
AK - A - A
AZ - C - A
AR - D - D
CA - D - E
CO - C - B
CT - C - D
DE - D - E
FL - C - A
GA - B - B
HI - E - E
ID - C - A
IL - E - E
IN - B - C
IA - D - E
KS - D - E
KY - C - A
LA - C - E
ME - B - A
MD - E - E
MA - D - E
MI - C - E
MN - C - E
MS - D - B
MO - D - E
MT - C - C
NE - C - B
NV - C -A
NH - B - A
NJ - E -E
NM - C - A
NY - D - E
NC - C - E
ND - B - E
OH - C - A
OK - C - A
OR - C - B
PA - B - B
RI - D - E
SC - C - A
SD - B - A
TN - D - B
TX - D - A
UT - C - A
VT - A - B
VA - B - D
WA - C - E
WV - C - A
WI - E - E
WY - C - A
If you think these requirements are too strict, check how many As and Bs there are. Some states do manage to score well.
For CCW:
A = unrestricted CCW, no permit required
B = Shall-issue (or effectively shall-issue), $10 per year or less for the initial permit
C = Shall-issue (or effectively shall-issue), between $10.01 and $25 per year for the initial permit
D = Shall-issue (or effectively shall-issue), $25.01 or greater per year for the initial permit; or may-issue regardless of cost
E = No-issue (or effectively no-issue)
I could have included things like fingerprint and training requirements, but it seems like additional requirements pretty much only occur in the higher priced states (or the may-issue states). So cost is a very good indicator of the number of hoops you have to jump through, as well.
For NFA:
A = all types of NFA weapons unrestricted at the state level
B = machine guns unrestricted, one other type of weapon restricted
C = machine guns unrestricted, two other types of weapon restricted
D = machine guns only restricted; or three non-machine gun types restricted
E = machine guns and any other types restricted, or greater than 3 non-machine gun types restricted
"Restricted" means any type of restriction whatsoever. For instance, VA requires state registration of all machine guns. That means they get a D. Them's the breaks.
State - CCW - NFA
AL - C - C
AK - A - A
AZ - C - A
AR - D - D
CA - D - E
CO - C - B
CT - C - D
DE - D - E
FL - C - A
GA - B - B
HI - E - E
ID - C - A
IL - E - E
IN - B - C
IA - D - E
KS - D - E
KY - C - A
LA - C - E
ME - B - A
MD - E - E
MA - D - E
MI - C - E
MN - C - E
MS - D - B
MO - D - E
MT - C - C
NE - C - B
NV - C -A
NH - B - A
NJ - E -E
NM - C - A
NY - D - E
NC - C - E
ND - B - E
OH - C - A
OK - C - A
OR - C - B
PA - B - B
RI - D - E
SC - C - A
SD - B - A
TN - D - B
TX - D - A
UT - C - A
VT - A - B
VA - B - D
WA - C - E
WV - C - A
WI - E - E
WY - C - A
If you think these requirements are too strict, check how many As and Bs there are. Some states do manage to score well.
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