Sure, we do have a generally gun-friendly culture here, but our laws don't always reinforce that. For instance, I'm sitting here in Florida visiting my mom this week. Some of the laws are funky (OK to go to a restaurant that serves alcohol, but don't sit in the bar area with your concealed handgun). But one thing is glaring: no form of 'no guns' signs are valid here, and there is no analog to our 30.06 sign. Put simply, any private business owner can still ask anyone to leave for any reason, but once they've opened their business to the public, they cannot summarily exclude me from carrying by just posting a sign. Private property rights are still protected, but this is balanced by protecting my right to carry unencumbered as well.
Thanks to Alice Tripp, Charles Cotton, and all the others who work tirelessly to remove obstacles to our RKBA, and help advance us toward #1 on this list, a little bit more each year.
http://www.gunsandammo.com/network-topi ... ners-2014/
States were ranked numerically in each of these five categories:
- Right-to-Carry: Each state was evaluated on whether it allows individuals to carry handguns, concealed or openly, with or without permits. If permits are issued, we evaluated whether they are issued on a “may issue” or “shall issue” basis and how readily ordinary citizens can obtain them. Close attention was paid to how restrictive state laws were in prohibiting carry in places such as restaurants, banks, parks and the like. In states where open carry is legal, we evaluated whether that right is prevented by municipal ordinances. A “perfect 10” included states such as Arizona and Wyoming, which allow permitless carry but also “shall issue” permits to allow residents to carry in reciprocal states. Scores trended downward from there based on the factors listed previously.
- Modern Sporting Rifles: We evaluated the types of restrictions states and their respective municipalities place on semiautomatic firearms not regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). These restrictions include limits on magazine capacity as well as banning or requiring registration based on cosmetic features such as bayonet lugs, pistol grips and folding buttstocks.
- NFA: Machine guns, suppressors (“silencers” according to the NFA), short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and shotguns (SBSs), Any Other Weapons (AOWs), and Destructive Devices (DDs) can only be purchased and owned in accordance with NFA laws. States can and do restrict these items in a complicated patchwork of laws across the nation. We examined which states restrict the ownership of NFA items and which do not. States that do not restrict ownership and compel Chief Law Enforcement Officers (CLEOs) to sign licensing documents were given top marks.
- Castle Doctrine: English common law established that a man’s home is his castle and he has a right to defend it. Laws that regulate the use of force to prevent death, serious bodily injury or forcible crimes vary significantly from state to state. We examined the statutes and case law in each state and ranked them accordingly. States that allowed the use of force, including deadly force, in defense of life were given the highest score if the right applied anywhere someone has a right to be. States that impose a duty to retreat before using force were ranked accordingly, and jurisdictions that severely restrict a citizen’s ability to use a firearm in self-defense were given the lowest scores.
- Miscellaneous: This category included a variety of substantive issues such as state constitutional provisions, state firearm law preemption, purchase/registration requirements, percentage of gun ownership, shooting range protection statues, availability of ranges and access to the shooting sports. States with a healthy firearms industry presence were noted, as were the attitudes of citizens toward the shooting sports and established shooting ranges.