States with the loosest gun laws generally include Wyoming, Mississippi, Alaska, Idaho, and Arizona, often lacking permits for concealed carry, universal background checks, and other common restrictions, while states like California and Massachusetts have some of the strictest laws, according to various analyses and rankings. These rankings depend on the criteria used, but states like New Hampshire and West Virginia are also cited for their very relaxed approaches.
Best States for Gun Owners
Now that you have a little idea of what's involved in gun ownership when moving overseas, here are the 10 countries with the friendliest gun laws:
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.
The top ten states for gun owners, according to Guns & Ammo, are:
Highlights from 2025 Gun Law Rankings:
The top five ranked states are California, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York and Connecticut. Idaho ranks 50th in the nation due to the weakness of its gun laws. Mississippi and Arkansas follow at 49th and 48th, respectively.
The places with the highest gun murder rates in 2023 included the District of Columbia (28.5 per 100,000 people), Mississippi (17.6), Louisiana (17.2), Alabama (13.2) and New Mexico (11.1). Those with the lowest gun murder rates included Hawaii (1.5), Utah (1.8), Nebraska (1.8), Idaho (1.8) and Massachusetts (1.8).
Gun Ownership by State (2025 Statistics)
Forty-four states have a provision in their state constitutions similar to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. The exceptions are California, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York.
California named most regulated state from 2019-2022
State RegData datasets ranked California as America's most regulated state each year from 2019 to 2022.
California led the way in gun safety in the United States as of January 2025, with a composite score of 90.5 based on the presence of 50 key gun safety policies.
Only if you purchase a weapon, you must send the sales contract to your cantonal weapons office within 30 days. If you are a foreign national without a settlement permit, you require a weapons acquisition permit for all types of weapon and their essential components (e.g. the barrel or casing).
Every type of gun you can imagine, and the best of the best, can be found being manufactured in the U.S.A. Gun manufacturers in the United States have always been one step ahead of all others, and true pioneers in their craft.
In April 2022, Governor Kemp signed a “Constitutional Carry Bill” allowing residents to carry handguns in public without a license or background check. Other recent pro-gun legislation signed by the governor includes House Bill 362 legalizing the new CVA .
Top Contenders for Best Reciprocity
In the rest of the state, adults 18 years of age or older can purchase long guns (rifles & shotguns) without a permit, and only adults 21 years of age or older can purchase or possess a handgun (with the proper licensing requirements).
New Hampshire tops the list of gun-friendly states for 2025. It is a Constitutional Carry state. Anyone over 18 years old who can lawfully possess a firearm can open or carry a concealed weapon. New Hampshire recognizes gun permits from all other states.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." In 1791, the United States adopted the Second Amendment, and in 1868 adopted the Fourteenth Amendment.
Legality. The sale of dragon's breath rounds is illegal in several US states (Alaska, California, Washington D.C, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York) and shipping may be restricted in other locations and cities due to their inherent fire hazard.
The states with the highest percentage of households with firearms are Montana (65%), Wyoming (61%), West Virginia (60%), Idaho (58%), and Alaska (57%). The states with the lowest household firearm ownership are New Jersey (9%), Massachusetts (9%), Hawaii (9%), and Rhode Island (14%).
Alabama has the highest concealed carry rate — 27.8%. Indiana is second with 23.0%, and Colorado is third with 16.5%. Six states now have over 1 million permit holders: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Florida is the top states with 2.56 million permits.
Texas, Florida, and Arizona, the three states with the most gun manufacturers in 2022, all have business-friendly policies including low or no income taxes and fewer regulations, as well as strong gun cultures.
1. Memphis. Memphis has one of the highest crime rates in the country at 2,437 per 100,000 people, with assault leading the list. The city has addressed these issues through targeted policing and community engagement initiatives.
WASHINGTON – Wallethub has released its 2025 list of the safest states in the U.S., placing Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire at the top of the list. Maine and Utah were the fourth and fifth safest states. The least safe states were Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Arkansas.
California had the 7th lowest gun death rate in the country in 2023. Firearms were the third leading cause of death among young people ages 1-17 in 2023. In 2022, there were at least 152 domestic violence-related homicides in California. 53% were by firearm.