As people leave big cities in search of more affordable housing and opportunities, this mass migration has some Americans looking for friendlier states — gun-friendly states, that is.
But which states in the U.S. are the most pro-2A?
Well, there are most certainly a number of factors to consider here, but after a thorough examination of each state’s laws, we think we’ve come up with a fairly reliable list.
So keep reading to find out which states are the most gun-friendly in the U.S.
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Disclaimer: We are not lawyers, nor do we pretend to be. Also, keep in mind that laws constantly change, and not all of the firearm-related laws for your state may be discussed here. Do your research and ensure you have a thorough understanding before buying or carrying.
Constitutional Carry
The best place to start when determining which states are the friendliest to gun owners is by looking at which states support Constitutional carry.
If we begin there, we can easily whittle down our list to the best of the best. As of this writing, there are 22 states within these United States that permit Constitutional Carry. They are:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Furthermore, Alabama will allow constitutional carry as of January 1, 2023. Ohio will allow it starting June 12, 2022, and Indiana will do the same starting July 1, 2022.
If you live in one of those states, congratulations! Just by doing so, you already live in one of the most gun-friendly states of America.
However, even amongst this list of Constitutional carry states some are more friendly to gun owners than others.
We here have analyzed some of the local laws to help better determine which of these are the best of the best.
Top 10 Best States for CCW and Gun Owners
1. Alaska
Alaska helped pave the way for constitutional carry by signing Bill 102 into law in 2003.
Further benefits of this state are a thriving private transaction sector, no gun bans, no capacity limits, no waiting periods, and you can Stand Your Ground here.
2. Wyoming
The World Population Review website gave Wyoming an ‘F’ for gun law laxity, meaning it automatically gets an ‘A+’ in my book.
According to those statists, Wyoming has the second most lax gun laws in the entire Land of the Free.
Here you’ll find wide-open skies, buffalo, and no permission slips needed for anything (e.g. no permit to purchase or carry, and no registration).
Unless you’re a non-resident..then you’re kind of screwed. If you’re not a Wyomingan (Wyomingite? Wyominger?) then you do have to carry a permit for concealed carry.
3. Idaho
Idaho rightfully passed Constitutional carry back in 2016 with SB 1389, allowing anyone over 21 to own and carry a weapon either exposed or concealed without needing a permission slip. But there is a stipulation attached.
It doesn’t apply to a “body of men” except under very specific circumstances.
That said, Idaho doesn’t require any kind of permission slip to purchase, has no registration requirements, has no waiting period, no universal background check, no gun bans, no capacity limits, and is a Stand Your Ground state.
So other than the “body of men” stipulation, Idaho is pretty rock solid when it comes to being pro-gun/pro-freedom.
4. Montana
This is a pretty cool place to be a gun owner.
Constitutional carry was passed back in February 2021. That goes along nicely with no gun bans, no magazine capacity restrictions, no waiting periods, no enforcement of ‘no gun’ signs, zero universal background checks, and the freedom to Stand Your Ground when trouble strikes.
5. Texas
Texas has a fantastic gun culture, actually having more gun jobs than any other state in the nation.
Not to mention, there are no mag bans, no gun bans, and no universal background checks, and you can open or concealed carry. Just make sure that gun stays in a holster — the state prefers it that way.
Also worth mentioning, Texas challenged the ATF by trying to circumvent that whole suppressors on the NFA thing. You can read more about that here.
6. Arizona
Constitutional carry went into effect in Arizona back in 2010 and the cool thing about this state is you can open carry long guns.
Other benefits of being an American in Arizona are that you can carry in your vehicle and you can carry in state parks as well.
Negatives about Arizona are that ‘no gun’ signs are enforced.
7. Kansas
If you have to carry a government-issued card in your wallet while you carry your brace of Desert Eagles on your hips, you know you’re not in Kansas anymore — constitutional carry was passed here in 2019 with SB 45.
Other awesome things about Kansas include that taxpayer-funded gun buy-back programs are illegal, of-age college students can carry on campus, there’s no registration, and Stand Your Ground exists.
Oh, and there are no gun bans, capacity limits, or waiting periods.
8. Missouri
Missouri jumped on the Constitutional carry bandwagon back in 2016. There’s no waiting period, no mag size restriction, no registration, no gun bans, and no universal background checks.
The only snafu here is that you have to get permission before carrying your weapon in public places.
9. Mississippi
This state has something of a strange history when it comes to gun rights. Since 2013, you’ve been able to open carry without being arrested, but a weird “coat tax” was put into place should you wear clothing that covered your weapon.
After HB 786 passed in 2016, citizens could finally wear clothes without fear of repercussion as constitutional carry was put into place.
There’s still a permit system existing, but it’s only there if you want to get an out-of-state recognized permit should you be traveling throughout the rest of the country.
You also don’t have to worry about registration here. That said, ‘no gun’ signs are enforced.
10. Oklahoma
Texas’ cousin, Oklahoma passed Constitutional carry three years ago in 2019.
Other cool gun-related aspects of Oklahoma are that you can rightfully Stand Your Ground, there are no gun bans, and no magazine bans either.
Final Thoughts
The number of constitutional carry states is only growing and new gun ownership is through the roof.
While this list is not exhaustive, it’s a good starting point if you’re considering a move to a more pro-2A state.
What are your thoughts on our top 10? Let us know in the comments below! For more on gun laws, check out our Gun Law category.
17 Leave a Reply
Missouri also has great “stand your ground” rights, and the Second Amendment Preservation Act! You might want to update/add that to the list under Missouri!
Not that we want to move, but if Oregon passes their sneaky measure 114, many of us will move.....sadly the left/liberals are ruining this state!
The fact New Hampshire isn’t on the list is a crime.
If you look at the list of 22 itbis there.
Ooops on #7. Anyone else see it?
Living in Arkansas, I'm confused as to why the Arkansas state flag is with Kansas' gun rights.
No idea how that happened, but it's been fixed. Thanks for pointing that out!
Maybe the forgot to put a - in there.
So it should have been AR-Kansas (AR15 KANSAS)
If the AK Was America's gun it could have been AkKansas and that would just be silly.
Brilliant catch.
Texas does require an ffl to run a NCIS background check for the purchase of a firearm. A person with a Texas LTC is exempt.
Louisiana is open carry and now concealed carry with no permit
There's another category you didn't mention that is worth adding. In some states, such as TX, you can use deadly force to protect property, not just life. So where I live in NC, if someone tries to carjack me at the gas station, but my kid is in the backseat, I can shoot that person to defend my child's life. But if that person has no weapon and tries to carjack me and my car is empty other than me, then I'm not allowed to use deadly force to prevent my vehicle from being stolen (there's some grey area here as is always the case... if I have a firearm in the vehicle and his stealing my car means he will be armed with my weapon and thus become a threat, I may be able to shoot to defend, but videos and intent will play a large role in court and if he's unarmed and driving away when I shoot, I'll be considered to be in the wrong for using deadly force for a simple robbery). In TX, however, you can shoot to defend property. If that same unarmed thug pushes me out of the way and jumps into my car and tries to drive away and I put a round through my back window and into his head to stop the theft of my vehicle, I'm in the clear. This is not dissimilar to the jokes about home invasions in CA where they suggest you wait til the perp is fully in your home before you shoot him as if he was even halfway through the window he could've changed his mind but you killed him before he could. Oh, and always lock your car while gas'ing up :)
i live in california......
it sucks....
Best thing I ever did was leave CA and move to FL. I come from a family of first responders and military and couldn't get a concealed permit in CA. I moved to FL and had one in 6 months. And best of all... in FL a concealed permit covers any weapon you can legally possess and use. I actually learned this the hard way when concealing a collapsible baton and traveling to NC which is a reciprocation state to FL. The problem is in NC, concealed permits are for handguns and pistols (not sure if AR pistols count), but only handguns. They only reciprocate on the handgun part, so carrying the collapsible baton concealed was a no-no while in NC. Same for my Toor Knives Serpent. It pays to read the laws so you don't run afoul of them. But hey, enjoy Newsom LOL
I live in Arizona. The gun laws here are excellent. If a property owner or business owner won't let you carry, that's their loss.
Arkansas flag on the Kansas section? Or was the Ar part of Arkansas left out in the rest of the article?
I really enjoy PPT but I’ve been noticing more and more typos, grammatical errors, and (much more infrequently) wrong information in the past year or so. I don’t intend to be rude but these errors can hurt credibility. Whenever I’m researching an unfamiliar topic errors like these make me (and likely many others) question the credibility of the source which is a shame since PPT usually has the best beginner guides out of all the magazines and gun blogs.
Kansas listed and discussed as #7, but Arkansas flag is shown. I get it- up until 5th grade, I pronounced Arkansas "Ar-Kansas". Failure of public education I suppose...