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Best States For Gun Owners: Most Pro 2A Locations

Currently live in an anti-gun state and want to move? We gathered a list of the most gun-friendly states in the U.S. to help you out.

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.

45 Colt Guns and Ammo

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: 

Constitutional Carry Map
Constitutional Carry Map (Credit: US Concealed Carry)
  • 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

Flag of Alaska
Flag of 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. 

Kat Shooting Glock
Stand your ground

2. Wyoming

Flag of Wyoming
Flag of 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). 

Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park

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 State Flag
Idaho State Flag

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. 

Staccato C Concealed Carry
Concealed Carry

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

Montana State Flag
Montana State Flag

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 State Flag
Texas State Flag

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.

Swampfox sunset
Typical Texas sunset. God bless Texas.

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

Flag of Arizona
Flag of 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

Kansas Flag
Kansas Flag

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 anymoreconstitutional 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 State Flag
Missouri State Flag

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

Mississippi State Flag 2021
Mississippi State Flag

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. 

5 o'clock Holster Position
You can now wear your shirt over your holster

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

Oklahoma State Flag
Oklahoma State Flag

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. 

Multiple Shotguns with Optics
Multiple Shotguns with optics

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.

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17 Leave a Reply

  • Commenter Avatar
    Princess Al

    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!

    January 24, 2023 8:32 am
  • Commenter Avatar
    Dave

    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!

    October 28, 2022 7:55 am
  • Commenter Avatar
    CrunchyCroutons

    The fact New Hampshire isn’t on the list is a crime.

    July 5, 2022 6:01 pm
    • Commenter Avatar
      Danny Tomlin

      If you look at the list of 22 itbis there.

      July 11, 2022 6:43 am
  • Commenter Avatar
    Len C

    Ooops on #7. Anyone else see it?

    June 30, 2022 6:00 pm
    • Commenter Avatar
      Dennis Atwood

      Living in Arkansas, I'm confused as to why the Arkansas state flag is with Kansas' gun rights.

      July 4, 2022 6:39 am
      • Commenter Avatar
        Jacki Billings

        No idea how that happened, but it's been fixed. Thanks for pointing that out!

        July 5, 2022 5:42 am
    • Commenter Avatar
      Paul F

      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.

      July 4, 2022 6:22 pm
      • Commenter Avatar
        Daniel

        Brilliant catch.

        July 20, 2022 11:56 am
  • Commenter Avatar
    George Suitor

    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.

    June 30, 2022 5:48 pm
  • Commenter Avatar
    Patrick Rohrbach

    Louisiana is open carry and now concealed carry with no permit

    June 30, 2022 8:58 am
  • Commenter Avatar
    A. Davis

    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 :)

    June 30, 2022 8:18 am
  • Commenter Avatar
    kelly

    i live in california......

    it sucks....

    June 30, 2022 2:44 am
    • Commenter Avatar
      A. Davis

      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

      June 30, 2022 1:32 pm
  • Commenter Avatar
    Krush

    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.

    June 29, 2022 7:42 pm
  • Commenter Avatar
    CKChevrolet

    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.

    June 29, 2022 5:55 pm
  • Commenter Avatar
    Scott Weed

    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...

    June 29, 2022 5:39 pm
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