Which State has the best gun laws?

[mike28003]

Nevada has somr pretty loose laws outside clark and whichever county reno is in. In those 2 counties only you have to register your pistols but nowhere else and in the Whole state you can open carry in any building not a gov building or otherwise posted on the door.

 

[mfldmike]

Ah, gotcha...

I'm from WI, and we waited a LONG time to where we are at today...I'm still waiting for my CCL but at least I can get them now. There is also still "Open Carry" ... all-in-all WI isn't too bad.

Except maybe around the Madison area...

 

[hogcowboy]

I don't see where ya'll think Vermont is so gun friendly. They don't have a conceal carry license so you in no way can have reciprocal carry in any other state unless you get one from another state. That puts them way down on my list.

 

[zstephens13]

I've seen it a couple times:

ALASKA

No permit required for open or concealed carry but CCL are available, no restrictions on suppressors even for hunting.

 

[leadcounsel]

A couple of silly laws that don't really affect anything. 1 handgun per 30 days (

I'd hardly call a one gun per month law "silly."

 

[leadcounsel]

From personal experience:

Michigan requires a pistol purchase permit and reporting to the law enforcement for FTF transactions. It's a crime to have an unregistered handgun. Otherwise relatively gun friendly because they have reciprocal CCW with most states, lots of gun owners and hunters. But overall I'd say that I don't like living someplace where I have to register like a criminal.

Colorado recently - I believe - closed the FTF transactions. Not sure. But it was otherwise gun friendly when I lived there. Outside of Boulder and some yuppy communities, lots of gun owners and a tradition of firearm ownership.

Tennessee was great for gun owners. So was Kentucky. Very common, CCW, no requirements to report or license them, no restrictions on buying, no ammo or mag restrictions, etc.

Washington is overall very good. FTF with no permits needed, silencers recently legalized for use, some good ranges and open spaces, no mag restrictions or weapon restrictions, CCW is honored and easy to get.

 

[Batty67]

Virginia is pretty gun tolerant, ESPECIALLY compared to neighboring Maryland and Washington, DC.

 

[mljdeckard]

I guess I'm just spoiled, I can't believe some of the things people talk themselves into thinking are 'ok'.

 

[Lunie]

I guess I'm just spoiled, I can't believe some of the things people talk themselves into thinking are 'ok'.

Texas is a prime example... They (generically) seem more enthusiastic about what they have, but their laws are restrictive compared to MANY other States, including mine.

My State isn't perfect, but has been on a steady path of improvement, and is one of the best using the "Brady" metric, as well as looking at the minimal amount of regulation.

Purchases are only regulated by the Feds, CC is shall issue and one of the best in that category (although it is still a permission slip with a fee and some training requirements, and like I said, not perfect.)

 

[AuthorityDenied]

A few things...

Those who hit on VT for their lack of permit to carry baffle me. If anything they are the model state for reciprocity. They don't find you're state of residence to be an issue. It's the other states that require a permit who create the problem. Essentially you are whining that their laws are too lax.

Also I find the generalization of we Northerners as MF'n Yankees to be incredibly ignorant. You are willing to write off a huge chunk of the gun owning populus because a few leftist and morally reprehensible politicians have been doing their best to restrict our rights. It is a constant battle up here. Why not try to help us win back our rights instead. The Civil War ended in 1865. It's time to move on.

 

[mfldmike]

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AGREE...well said

 

[X-Rap]

In Colorado my gripe is permit required,the gun show 4473 requirement, Denver exemption, no guns in K-12. aside from that I can't really think of a complaint.
These gripes are no small issue and I wish they weren't in force but they are something that can be worked around until corrected.
Don't know why we don't rate better??

 

[jawman]

The worst state by far is a no brainer: Illinois.

 

[ShawnC]

Nothing against suppressors, but when DC makes it nearly impossible to bring a gun to your home, and Illinois has almost (?) no concealed carry, I'd call permitless open and concealed carry for everyone very gun friendly. The only gun law I remember (never wanted a suppressor) was that you couldn't have a loaded rifle in your car, and that was more of a hunting law than anything else. As far as gun friendly states I've lived in (quite a few) VT was the easiest to deal with.

 

[CollinLeon]

I'd hardly call a one gun per month law "silly."

Agreed... I might not buy any firearms all year and then buy 5 or 6 in one month. I don't want no stinkin' government idiot telling me when I can buy my firearms or how many I can buy at one time.

 

[ShawnC]

I don't see where ya'll think Vermont is so gun friendly. They don't have a conceal carry license so you in no way can have reciprocal carry in any other state unless you get one from another state. That puts them way down on my list.

But if you are from out of state, you can carry in VT without a permit, so wouldn't that make them very friendly? I think that would make the other states non gun friendly. A permit is an added "burden" to carrying so if that state has a permit, and VT doesn't require one, than the other state is by definition MORE restrictive. Why doesn't a reciprocal state simply honor a VT driver's license as a recognized permit to carry?
I've lived in VT, and there are a lot of reasons not to like it, but I did find it, despite their hippy attitude, to be extremely gun friendly. Especially compared to the neighboring People's Republic of Massachusetts.

 

[ATBackPackin]

When no one was lookin' were you putting peanuts in your Coke?

I really don't know what that means.

Oh by the way, I was joking for the most part and I certainly was not saying Vermont was the best. However what I said was true.


And no I do not live in Vermont and have only visited there twice. Once skiing at Killington and a week long stay at a beautiful lakefront cabin at Harveys Lake.

Shawn

 

[Stophel]

Has to be a free open carry state with no licensing for me to call it "gun friendly" I live in KY. We can legally walk into the State Capitol building with a pistol on our hips.

I avoid going into Tennessee because you have to be licensed to carry a gun on you in any way.

The Right to Bear Arms means the Right to BEAR ARMS.

 

[Gizards'n'Gravy]

Louisiana is great. concealed permits are pretty easy to get and you can pretty much get whatever gun you want. I love it here, they don't call north Louisiana the Sportsmans Paradise for nothin...

 

[ErikO]

Misouri's great if you're a Citizen, pretty good still if you're a Resident Alien, just can't CCW legally off of your own property if you're an RA.

Most of our rectal-cranial inversion has been 'rectified'. No FFL-holder requirement for supressors (just the $$$$ for the can itself + $200 stamp), shall-issue, most of the state is OC-friendly and you can carry a handgun while bow hunting. Still need to get that Citizenship requirement lifted from our CCW...

Can't use shot-based ammo to take deer, but really who would want to? Otherwise things are pretty good.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Colorado is inching, ever-so-slowly, in the wrong direction. "Minor", "insignificant" restrictions and anti-gun legislation has been passed almost every session for the past several years. Little by little, bit by bit.

What legislation do you speak of? There've been no new regulations since the "gun show loophole" law post-columbine. It's the only law we have that's stricter than federal.

The only gun-related laws since then are good ones:

-State-wide preemption, exc. denver's ban on OC and resident-only AWB
-May issue to shall-issue, 90 day max.

As for carry restrictions, they're not too awful. Government building, buildings with permanent metal detectors or security screening at all entrances, and K-12 schools are off limits. But Bars are OK so long as you don't exceed the same limit as for driving (0.05%), "no weapons" signs do not carry weight of law (even in denver), no restrictions on vehicular carry of handguns (long guns must have empty chamber per CDOW, but otherwise unrestricted). OC is good to go outside of denver.

NFA stuff is not regulated on the state level.

Basically, other than the "Gun show loophole" nonsense, we're only governed by federal law.

As for denver, yeah......It's like an island within the state. You have to separate it from the rest just as Chicago from IL, Los Angelas from CA, Detroit from MI, etc.

And yes, denver is not capitalized on purpose. I hate that city. It's a boil on the posterior of the state.

 

[CoRoMo]

Oh, off the top of my head...

Ritter signed the law that keeps Colorado from honoring non-resident carry permits. HB 10-1391 was signed by him as well, which continues our use of CBI for the point of sale background checks. This is why our background check at point of sale takes between 17 minutes and two days, as opposed to states that use the FBI NICS system which is as instantaneous as the dealer's internet speed will run. I forget how many millions it costs our bankrupt state to use the CBI system, but I don't think it matters to the antis when we pay with money we don't have, for a system that doesn't fix something that wasn't broke to begin with.

Those are two from Ritter's regime. Yes, they are "minor" and "insignificant" as I posted earlier. Just nibbles at the wall of freedom; too many nibbles take the whole wall down.

Oh... and "we" just elected an outspoken Bloomberg mayor who vocalized his desire to bring 1-gun-a-month laws to our state. I know it isn't in effect... yet... but this guy is now our Governor, and that is a big step in the wrong direction in and of itself.

I agree; Denver is a toilet.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Ritter signed the law that keeps Colorado from honoring non-resident carry permits.

........obtained by residents. Just making sure that no one reads that to mean that we don't honor other permits.

A few other states have done this, too, and I disagree with it. But it was really about revenue, not gun control; Lots of people were getting out-of-state permits for better reciprocity. Just another part of his whole package that increased our vehicle registrations, etc. Every non-resident permit was $52.50 CBI didn't get.

And yes, using CBI instead of NICS is silly, and annoying at times. But they have to justify those government payrolls somehow, don't they? lol.

Ritter seemed to know well enough to leave guns alone, but he certainly held fast to party dogma with taxes (written into the legislation as "fees" so Colorado voters never had a chance to say no). We'll see what part deux has in store for us (still can't believe that happened).

 

[parsimonious_instead]

I really don't know what that means.

Oh by the way, I was joking for the most part and I certainly was not saying Vermont was the best. However what I said was true.


And no I do not live in Vermont and have only visited there twice. Once skiing at Killington and a week long stay at a beautiful lakefront cabin at Harveys Lake.

Shawn

I was quoting a line from the old Barbara Mandrell song "I was country when country wasn't cool."

I open carried in Vermont during a tactical class, and then out to a lakefront restaurant when we took a lunch break. Felt great to exercise rights that I couldn't only one state away (New York).

 

[Unkei]

Can't own supressors in VT.

Best gun laws..
I was under the impression that the privilege of buying,owning,using a suppressor was granted by proper agency of us govt (ATF) after ludicrous amts of paperwork and a fairly reasonable fee. Am I mistaken in this? Do states have the right to override federal law in a way that seems arbitrary?