From Washington, D.C., to Wyoming, a look at American cities with the toughest and weakest gun laws—and how state preemption shapes local firearm regulations.
Did you know every state in the U.S. allows for some kind of concealed carrying of guns? Twenty-nine states generally allow people to carry concealed weapons in most public spaces without any permit, background check, or safety training.
All but three states–California, Illinois, and New York–also allow for the open carrying of firearms. That means in most of America, adults without a criminal record can legally walk down Main Street with an assault rifle slung over their shoulder or a .44 magnum on their hip.
Giffords Law Center is an organization dedicated to saving lives from gun violence, named after former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. In 2011, Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman at a constituent event in Tucson. She survived. Six other attendees did not.
Giffords has released its annual “Gun Law Scorecard” for 2026. Seven states received an “A” grade for their restrictions placed on guns in public: California (1), New Jersey (2), Connecticut (3), New York (4), Massachusetts (5), Illinois (6), and Hawaiʻi (7).
Twenty-four states received an “F.” The bottom five were Wyoming (50), Arkansas (49), Kentucky (48), and Idaho and Missouri (46).
Municipal gun ordinances–who can carry in public, where, what kinds of firearms, required licenses–can be stricter than state gun laws, but not looser. For the most part, city gun laws don’t vary greatly from their state gun laws. With that in mind, let’s look at the American cities with the strictest vs. loosest gun laws.