Which State is the MOST ANTIGUN?

[moi_self26]

It depends on how you are ranking. MA, NJ, and NY make the top of the list for me, simply because they don't recognize the 1986 Gun Owner's Protection Act. Granted if you fight it, you will win, but you will still be arrested and have to pay a boat load of money to fight it (though there are many other great reasons for those states to be recognized amongst the worst 2A states)

CA is definitely up there in the rankings as well for obvious reasons.

 

[NotSoFast]

I don't need to register C&R purchases in California.

I disagree with most of those saying California. I've read the summaries of the laws in the worst and New Jersey gets my vote.

 

[Dr.Who]

If Chicago was a state....

Well come to think of it, Chicago voters (Dead and Alive) control the state. So I guess the Great State of Chicago Illinois is, with Comrade Daley at the helm!

Watch out USA/NRA, where did your current President come from.... Chicago...

 

[PCGS65]

Illinois ranks right up there. No CCW,FOID(firearm owner ID)card required to even purchase ammo. The FOID card is basically the same as a NICS check. It has been state law long before NICS has. NO ONE can lawfully own a gun or ammo without one. BTW the only thing you can hunt in Illinois with a rifle is coyote.

I hear NJ is bad also but I don't know all their laws.

 

[Smith]

NJ, IL, and CA. While I don't know for sure, I would think that Massachusetts is probably pretty bad too.

 

[Tom488]

Gotta clear up some of the clarifications about NJ here:

Just out of curiosity do you know if 22's are exempt?

YES they are! Any weapon that can hold more than 15 rounds is considered an assault weapon (Marlin 60's are banned because this).

Only if said .22 is a semi-auto. Older Marlin 60's with the 17-round tube magazine are banned - newer ones that hold 15 rounds are fine. A lever-action .22 can have as large a magazine as you want.

NO! It is not illegal to purchase or own hollowpoints; it is, however, illeagal to shoot another person with them. But they are fine for the target range.

Possession of HP rounds is illegal, unless kept in your home, transporting home from a place of purchase, or going to/from a target range. Walk around a mall with a single .22 HP round in your pocket, and you could face 1-3 years in prison if caught.

As for self-defense, the law is silent on that. There is no "extra" charge they could hit you with if you shot an intruder in your home - other than what they could charge you with if you used FMJ's (assault w/ deadly weapon, manslaughter, murder - depends on the circumstances).

 

[ilbob]

BTW the only thing you can hunt in Illinois with a rifle is coyote.

I am pretty sure you can hunt small game with 22 RF rifles. I know squirrel hunters that do.

The rifle restrictions are not so much an anti-gun statement as they are a realization of the population density in much of the state. Fear of errant rifle rounds is not completely irrational.

There is also now a handgun deer season.

 

[statelineblues]

Tom488 - you're right; thanks for the clarification!

(hey, I was up past my bedtime, hadn't had my cocoa, ... )

 

[HexHead]

NJ... while there are worse states... the overall experience in NJ depends on where you live.

You have to have a Firearms Purchase ID issued by the local municipality, or the state police. if you want a handgun, need a permit for each.

While I received my permits and FID in 32 days, there are other municipalities where people were waiting for over a year.

No handgun magazines over 15 rounds, no ak's, etc. no rifle magazines over 10, shotguns over 5?

Forget about CCW.

You left out no hollow points. :banghead:

 

[Fetus]

NJ !!!!

 

[zminer]

In California ... You may not transfer certain weapons within the state, you cannot leave them to your children in the state - free men to slaves in one generation, how convenient!

As someone from NY, I'm no apologist for California-style laws, but this doesn't sound right. Do you have a reference for this?

All I could find is:

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/forms/pdf/Cfl2006.pdf

On page 42-43 of the PDF it specifically exempts executors of estates, and firearms bequeathed between immediate family members, from the laws regarding the sale, loan, and transfer of firearms.

EDIT: I forgot - if any of the guns you inherit are "concealable firearms" you need to get a license, as per law.

 

[justinvoigts]

New jersey and california close

Well in nj you need to get a separate pistol permit for each handgun bought. After you get the permit which takes a month after you submit the application you must have a firearms id card also. New law being passed saying a person can only get 1 a month. Each permit lasts 90 days plus you can get one 90 day extension too so 6 months total you have to buy a gun . 15 round limit to capacity on any guns in nj. Ca has a 10 rd limit. Within the last 6 months i bought 4 handguns just because it's only gonna get worse with obama in office from what i hear. Look at the law forbidding handguns he made in chicago. The innocent people don't have guns then well the criminals still get them illegally like they do now. You can't get a gun legally if you have a record but look at all the violence we have. If they take the peoples guns it will be overpowered with criminals cause they will be robbing anyone they want, cause they wont have a fear of being shot. Like they could now with people having guns. It will just be anarchy so taking they law abiding citizens gun rights away that will help the country right ????????????????? Some people are just idiots read about the 90 yr old woman that killed an intruder in chicago google it you will see.

 

[atvalaska]

Alaska!

no and i mean No, "no big game hunting with a rimfire" PERIOD. what are they thinking..

 

[kermit315]

zminer, he is talking about willing registered assault weapons. However, he neglects to mention that you can still have ar15's, AK 47's, and other rifles. Hell, I have a midlength carbine, that I built last year. And, if I was staying in this state, I could hand it down to my son.

California gets a bad rap. Is it the perfect state of gun ownership, no. However, you dont need a permit to purchase, long guns are not registered, and there are other things in the works to help get rid of some of the rest of the BS that Californian's have to cut through.

Illinois is another state that gets a bad rap. Yeah, they have FOID, and it sucks. No,they dont have CCW. But, there are no mag capacity limits, no limits on what you can own (re: safe handgun list/banned assault weapons, obviously not talking Class III), 3 day wait for handguns, 1 day for long guns.

Are there other states that are better: sure. But, in Illinois, I dont feel like a criminal just taking my guns out to go shooting.

And, the rifle hunting limitations are based on population density, as was stated before. Also, Illinois is not the only state that limits rifle hunting.

 

[Igloodude]

It depends on how you are ranking. MA, NJ, and NY make the top of the list for me, simply because they don't recognize the 1986 Gun Owner's Protection Act. Granted if you fight it, you will win, but you will still be arrested and have to pay a boat load of money to fight it (though there are many other great reasons for those states to be recognized amongst the worst 2A states)

Ditto here (no big surprise, we both live in a state cut off from most of the rest by NY/MA). Before business trips driving to NJ I actually have to give my car a once-over to make sure I haven't accidentally left any reloaded .45ACP ammo in the trunk. But the five most often mentioned in the thread (NY, MA, NJ, IL, and CA) are just generally the worst five - picking the most antigun among them is just a waste of cranial processor cycles.

 

[Igloodude]

no and i mean No, "no big game hunting with a rimfire" PERIOD. what are they thinking..

I'd imagine it's more related to laws against assisted suicide, than anything else.

 

[Dope]

Tough call. I think the general standard is that CA is the worst. What comes after that is the hard part. NJ, NY, MA, CT, IL?

Living in MA I can list a few things that stand out as good and bad, maybe that will help.

The bad:
Can't own ammo, firearms, or even pepper spray without some kind of firearms license. Getting said license is "may issue" and in some cases is impossible (mainly a few cities surrounding Boston, the rest of the state is fine). Have to get an LTC (license to carry) to even own a handgun at all.

The good:
Once you have acquired said LTC, there are no waiting periods, XXX amount of purchases a month, nothing like that. Not only that, but we may just have the most (or close to) options when CC'ing. The only places offlimits that I can think of are federal buildings and schools. No posted "no guns" signs that I have ever seen (I'm not sure if they're even legal). Once you have gone through the hassle of obtaining an LTC it's pretty smooth sailing. LTC costs $100 and lasts 6 years too (no other fees). Expensive but "cheap" compared to some states.

The bad:
'94 AWB is in effect permanently.

The good:
Unlike some of the other "top" (or "bottom" if you prefer) states, this means that you can at least buy "assault weapons" just without the "evil features". And you can buy pre-ban stuff too, including "high-cap" magazines.

The bad:
There is a "list" of authorized handguns that you are allowed to buy new. It's basically common handguns from major manufacturers.

The good:
Ok, not a lot of good about this. It's a ridiculous law with no actual point. If you want something not on the approved "list" then you have to buy it used or buy it from someone who moved into the state with it (it becomes "grandfathered in" in this case)

The bad:
No castle doctrine, and there is a "duty to retreat" when outside of the home. Which basically means if you have to shoot someone outside of your home you will have fun fighting it in court. Kinda makes that LTC and all the places you can CC in kinda moot, when you'll probably be too afraid of the law to defend your life.

The good:
*sigh*

Hope that helps compare to some of the other states. Sounds to me that NJ should be above MA for sure. After that, it starts getting tough to decide.

Dope

 

[Nick_007]

I don't think you can have an SKS in Cal. I am pretty sure it's on their ban list. And several auctions on Gun broker won't ship one there. You can have that in NYC even; although I think you have to pin the mag to 5 rounds. But at least you can get an SU-16 Cal in Kali. You have to deal with some arbitrary process to get anything in NYC registered. There's a different "long gun" and handgun permit; which take 4-6 months for rifles/shotguns; costs $240 in fees every 3 years; and it takes longer and is even more expensive and selective for a handguns.

I am happy I found a place right outside the ny city limits -- about 1.5 miles from where I used to live -- over the weekend; it's nice and big, so I just applied. I guess I got lucky.

I now will no longer have to deal with NYC draconian gun laws (and taxes). Relatively speaking I'm in gun heaven with NY State laws. Sheesh. All I want is a 10 round fixed mag SKS; and I could care less about the bayonnet.

Why do they have one any way? How can you get that close in battle unless we're talking knights and trojan horses or whatnot from hundreds of years ago?

 

[wyocarp]

Never mind a gun..

I can't even use my lawnmower in
california.

Are you talking about for self defense?

 

[kermit315]

I don't think you can have an SKS in Cal. I am pretty sure it's on their ban list.

This is wrong. There are many people that I know that have SKS's, and they are still sold throughout the state. The grenade launcher is an evil feature that must be removed.

 

[TEDDY]

bad/good

Hay dope:you sure you live in mass.there sure is a castle law.signed by Gov King.and you dont have to retreat.thats an urban ledgnd,check it out and contact GOAL and ask Nancy.508/393/5333 ext 201.
the other good part is the number of gun clubs.and you dont have to register your guns,what you do is buy a gun and it is registered by the feds and the state.so no matter where you go the gun is registered.and there is no registration on the NICS check.
I would not say Mass was a great state but it is not the worst,and if you get rid of the anti gun legislatures it would return to a great state.that Gov is ripe to get the republicans in,and there are some good democrates.join GOAL

 

[ejfalvo]

NJ sucks. I went to NC for business and while there attended a gun show. Holy sh**, I had no idea what I was missing. I want out!

 

[novaDAK]

Things were supposed to change after Heller but DC (while not a state) is the most restrictive in the U.S.

And it affects people in VA as well. Traveling on the GW Parkway in Virginia, and all of a sudden, you're in "DC" even though you're still on the south bank of the Potomac. That's due to the way the boundaries were drawn after VA got Arlington back in the early 1800s.

 

[isp2605]

But the five most often mentioned in the thread (NY, MA, NJ, IL, and CA) are just generally the worst five - picking the most antigun among them is just a waste of cranial processor cycles.

Just because a state is mentioned doesn't make it so. How many who responded actually know what the laws are for the other states? I venture a guess most of the answers came from people who barely know the laws in their own state and don't have any idea about any other state other than to parrot what they've heard others say with no actual knowledge.
Instead of asking some nebulous question of "which is worse" the question should have required the person to answer why they believe "X" state is worse than another. Then you'll find out just how little some people actually know but you'll find out all the rumors that they believe.
How many states not mentioned require a person to get permission from the sheriff or other authority before the person can buy a gun?
How many states require registration of any type firearm?
How many states restrict the type of firearm you are allowed to buy?

 

[indiandave]

Ejfalvo you should move across the Delaware to Pennsylvania. I live in Pa and work in NJ. We have lots of gun shows here also.