Which States Allow The Permitless Carry Of Guns? [Infographic]

This week, Florida became the 26th state in the U.S. to pass a law allowing for the permitless carry of concealed guns, tipping the balance in favor of states which allow this practice. In terms of permitless open carry, it is still 25 vs. 25 states, however, as Florida remains one of the few places in the nation outlawing open carry. This is creating a very unusual combination of laws as the state pivots to less strict gun legislation. The change goes into effect July 1.

Only California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Washington D.C. prohibit the open carry of guns (while requiring a permit for concealed carry), the same category Florida had fit in prior to the change. All 25 states other than Florida that allow permitless concealed carry also don’t require a permit for open carry. This is according to information by the Giffords Law Center.

For many decades, Vermont was the only state where no carry permits were required, which is why the practice is sometimes called Vermont carry. Permitless carry is also referred to as constitutional carry. In 2011, Wyoming was the first state to enact or re-introduce similar laws and 23 more states have followed suit since, most recently Alabama on January 1, 2023, and Indiana, Georgia and Ohio in 2022.

Other than in the case of Florida, open carry is consistently seen as the type less in need of regulation in United States. 13 states allow the open carry of guns without a permit while requiring one for concealed carry and no states do it the other way around. Both types of carry require a permit in eight states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Hawaii and Minnesota.

More changes coming?

The Florida law change is another victory for conservatives in the state and could also be one for Republican governor Ron DeSantis who is rumored to be running for president in 2024. Yet, the new legislation is short of what gun activists had hoped for, not a surprise when comparing Florida’s law to other states. Politico reports that DeSantis has come out in favor of open carry, but that parts of the Republican legislature oppose it. However, the pressure to enact more changes has certainly heightened in Florida with this latest decision.

DeSantis meanwhile received pushback from the White House, which decried the move in light of the recent shooting at a school in Nashville and the history of mass shootings in Florida, for example at Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 and the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in 2016.

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Charted by Statista