The Hall of Shame, the Worst State for Gun Owners

[Silversmok3]

Where do you guys think is the worst state in the union to be a gun owner?

Is it California, where buying two handguns in a month is illegal and only gangbangers & cops can carry 10+ round magazines?

Is it New York State, where the Assault Weapons Ban is alive and kicking and NYC just happens to be in?

Is it Illinois, the only state in the country that has no concealed carry law for private citizens( concealed carry is legal for Chicago City Alderman!)

Or is it New Jersey that takes the Spent Casing of Shame for bad laws?

 

[mg357]

I vote for New York State.

 

[Steve in Vermont]

I'd like to see a poll in which everyone, from every state, nominates the state in which they live for either the Hall of Shame or Hall of Fame. And explain why. It would be interesting to learn about gun laws from other states from the perspective of Forum Members, including which laws work and which don't.

 

[jtpur]

gotta be Illinois, but here in Texas we have some repressive laws too....like no guns on college campus, sporting events, polling places etc......heck if we are licensed we should be able to carry anyplace except in places where people are confined against their will....prisons, mental hospitals.......no sense in being in a locked room and have your gun taken away by the inmates...even prison guards dont carry......

 

[thndrchiken]

While the PRNJ makes you jump through hoops, it is still nowhere near as bad as Illinois.

 

[Magnumdood]

I was born in 1959 and lived the first 40 years of my life in Texas; I have been visiting Illinois for the last 12 years. Compared to Illinausea, Texas is Gun Heaven. Trust me. If you live in Texas you have it so much better than here it makes me very depressed when I think about it.

 

[vytoland]

this is NO contest………….illinois, hands down, is the all time king of anti gun!! Only recently were the citizens of illinois' largest city even allowed to owned hand guns, but they can not buy or shoot hand guns, because chicago does NOT allow gun stores or gun ranges. DUH! there is NO "right to carry" a hand gun in the state of illinois (unless you are a politician).

 

[PDL]

I can't vote accurately because, I don't know IL laws. I know you can't carry there, but that's about it.
In NJ unless you're connected you can't carry either. We're also stuck with the rediculous 1 handgun a month. On top of that, you have to have a firearms purchase ID to buy any gun, aw well as ammo that fits in a pistol. You need a separate purchase permit for each handgun, they're good for 90 days, but can be renewed for another 90 if the police want to. You still have to go thru a NICS check for any firearm purchase. The federal law doesn't require a NICS check if you've got a permitting system. But one of our past governors decided we'd still need both. In any case, all permits are cheap in and of themselves. But they process costs you money and time. Even though the statue says 30 days for a yes or no, a lot of the police departments can and do take months to process any and all permits.
If I could vote, I'd vote for NJ as the worst.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Why isn't Hawaii on the list?

MA is in the worst half-dozen, for sure, but is very clearly not the worst. Bad, because you can't get new handguns until they're on The List, if ever, or new standard-capacity guns and mags, and restrictions on carry permits are at the discretion of issuing CLEOs. But there are a LOT of unrestricted carry permits - you just have to live in a more American part of the state.

 

[exSun]

I am surprised Hawaii is not on the list of choices. You need police permission to own a gun there.

 

[nawilson]

They are all pretty bad... I won't ever live in any of them, and I'd prefer to never even visit.

 

[scooter123]

IMO the worst has to be New York. It's the only state with a documented history for NOT recognizing the Federal Transport Provision. If you are planning on visiting friends in Vermont from PA and west, you better have a very large gas tank and a very large bladder, because stopping for either fuel or to pee can have you facing charges.

 

[Ogandydancer]

I voted California but, then I consider all the ones you named to all be as bad as each other.

 

[DCWilson]

Any state where you need prior permission to buy a gun is a major offender in my book. It may surprise the California bashers, but that is NOT the case here. California limits the types of gun you can buy and the frequency with which you can buy them unless you have some form of FFL and a supplementary certificate from the CA DOJ that relieves you of the limitations. Sales to the few illegal would-be purchasers are blocked in the post-transaction review process rather than requiring absolutely everyone to get a pre-purchase clearance. That's the way it ought to be.

Given my knowledge of gun laws in the states in this poll (and I admit my knowledge cannot be perfect), I would nominate California as the LEAST offensive state among the nominees in terms of gun laws. This is not going to be a popular position among those for whom it is politically correct to ding California at every opportunity.

By the way, we all know that "political correctness" is a poisonous affliction on both sides of the political spectrum, don't we?

 

[HKSmith]

IMO the worst has to be New York. It's the only state with a documented history for NOT recognizing the Federal Transport Provision. If you are planning on visiting friends in Vermont from PA and west, you better have a very large gas tank and a very large bladder, because stopping for either fuel or to pee can have you facing charges.

I voted for NY because they require a license and registration just to own a handgun in your home. However, I have many times traveled from Ohio to Vermont across NY State under the FOPA provisions without any problems, including gas, meal, and bathroom stops. The guns, of course, stay locked in my car trunk. The courts have held that this is legal. Do you have any references for arrests made in NY of people exercising these rights?

 

[Silversmok3]

I voted for NY because they require a license and registration just to own a handgun in your home. However, I have many times traveled from Ohio to Vermont across NY State under the FOPA provisions without any problems, including gas, meal, and bathroom stops. The guns, of course, stay locked in my car trunk. The courts have held that this is legal. Do you have any references for arrests made in NY of people exercising these rights?

Illinois is worse even in this topic.

I am not aware of New York laws about state preemption of local laws, but in Illinois every town in the state is entitled to make its own rules about guns.


Travel on I94 though Illinois much?

Because part of the Interstate passes through a wealthy community called Highland Park ,which bans handgun possession within city limits. Get stopped on the open highway with your federally secured handgun(s) in city limits and youre subject to weapon confiscation and a $500 fine, as keeping any handgun within town limits requires an annual permit issued at the discretion of the Highland Park Chief of Police.


The articles are here:

Sec. 134.099 Penalty.
(A) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this Chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) for the first such offense; for each such subsequent offense such Person shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).
(B) The trial court shall confiscate any Handgun seized under this Chapter and, when no longer needed for evidentiary purposes, the court shall transfer any such Handgun to the Police Department which shall destroy it in accord with Section 134.006 of this Chapter.


If you still feel the need to bring your guns into Illinois as a visitor ,I highly suggest you fly in.

 

[27145]

I would rate Illinois as the worst, no conceal carry. NJ as the 2nd worst since it is "may issue" throughout the State. Ny is bad, but only in NYC. In NYC unless you are a retired cop or a member of Aerosmith, you won't get one. The other parts of NY is gun friendly. I am surprised Maryland and Hawaii is not getting more votes.. Cali and Mass are horrible, but look at the people they elect into office, they deserve it.

I can carry in all 50 States as a retired PO under LEOSA. I feel all qualified citizens should have a "shall issue" carry permit and carry in all 50 States like I can. A permit just like a drivers' license.

 

[ASA335]

I'll go with what the Brady Campaign says is the #1 state with the most "sensible" gun laws, in their 2010 scoring of state firearms laws - California.

Each of the states listed, depending on where one lives within that state, can range from not quite tolerable to downright intolerable in my view; but overall, California scored a 80 out of 100 on the Brady Campaign's list - the highest score among all the states.

Source: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

 

[Hondo44]

I'll go with what the Brady Campaign says is the #1 state with the most "sensible" gun laws, in their 2010 scoring of state firearms laws - California.

Each of the states listed, depending on where one lives within that state, can range from not quite tolerable to downright intolerable in my view; but overall, California scored a 80 out of 100 on the Brady Campaign's list - the highest score among all the states.

Source: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

CA is no doubt bad, but the correlation to the Brady bunch #1 score is faulty. What they rate as most sensible gun laws is not completely relative to the most egregious infringements on our 2nd amendment rights. I don't know which state is the worst. But it seems to me, the states (of which CA is not one) that require expiring permits to own guns is worse.

 

[johngalt]

I used to live in IL a few years ago (central part of the state). IL gun laws are not as bad as everyone likes to make it out to be.

There are a few problems:
* FOID (but is easy to get)
* No CCW
* waiting periods
* private transfers are regulated
* No state wide pre-emption. These days, I'm not sure this is actually a problem. If there was pre-emption, I suspect you would see Chicago style gun laws imposed on the entire state. Currently they seem to content to limit it to Chicago.

None of this really got in the way of buying down state, but I will never move back.

I lived in MD for a short period of time, I never bought anything while there, so I don't really remember how bad it was.

Just from what I've heard 2nd and 3rd hand, I think NJ wins the title.