Don’t Get Caught Open Carrying Your Gun in These States – or Else

While citizens in Florida are allowed to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, the laws around open carry are different. In fact, open carry is surprisingly illegal in the state, considering its support of gun owner rights. But that could soon be changing. Governor Ron DeSantis recently shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) that […] The post Don’t Get Caught Open Carrying Your Gun in These States – or Else appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Feb 11, 2025 - 15:12

Don’t Get Caught Open Carrying Your Gun in These States – or Else

While citizens in Florida are allowed to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, the laws around open carry are different. In fact, open carry is surprisingly illegal in the state, considering its support of gun owner rights. But that could soon be changing. Governor Ron DeSantis recently shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he would undoubtedly sign legislation allowing the open carry of firearms should that legislation ever pass his desk. DeSantis has expressed his interest in, and support of, open carry in the past few years. However, DeSantis might be at odds with sitting Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez; Albritton has been an outspoken opponent to open carry, saying that he believes it could put policemen at risk of increasing violence. Whether DeSantis makes any headway into open carry in Florida has yet to be seen. (We bet you can’t answer these questions about American gun laws.)

Each state has its own set of laws governing gun ownership, including who can own a gun, under what circumstances, and where they are allowed to carry their weapon. Some states, like California and other liberal states have stricter rules regarding firearms than other more gun-friendly states, such as Mississippi. Using data compiled by gun control advocacy group Giffords Law Center, 24/7 Wall St. identified the laws for carrying firearms in public in every state. States are listed in alphabetical order. The strength of each state’s control laws is expressed in letter grades ranging from “A” for the strictest gun control policies, to “F” for the most permissive. All data is from the Giffords Law Center.

Why This Matters

gun+Georgia | No guns allowed on planes sign, TSA checkpoint, Atlanta International Airport, Georgia, USA

While gun laws have changed little at the national level in recent decades, most of the 50 states have meaningfully expanded gun rights in the last 15 years. Because of these changes, legal gun owners in most states can carry firearms in public — openly or concealed — without a special permit or license. It is important to note that in many of these same states, firearms are restricted from certain public areas, like schools or courthouses.

According to the Giffords Law Center, firearms in public places can increase the risk of avoidable, deadly confrontations — a claim substantiated by firearm mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 10 states with the highest gun death rates, nine have permitless concealed carry laws on the books, and all impose little or no restrictions on the open carry of firearms. (Here’s the gun law grade for every state.)

These are the laws on open carry of a firearm in each U.S. state: