freedomrankings.comSecond Amendment
States differ enormously on the right to keep and bear arms — from permitless "constitutional carry" with almost no restrictions to may-issue permitting, magazine limits, and red-flag laws. This ranking scores all 50 states on Second Amendment freedom so you can see at a glance where gun owners have the most latitude.
Wyoming leads all 50 states for Second Amendment with a score of 10.0/10, followed by Idaho and Montana. New York ranks last. Each state is scored 0–10 on Second Amendment from established, annually-updated third-party indexes.
Score reflects carry laws, permitting, red-flag laws, magazine and firearm restrictions, and castle-doctrine protections. Darker green = stronger; click any state for its full breakdown.
Gun Carry Laws by State: Constitutional & Open Carry in 2026
29 states dropped the permit requirement in barely two decades. Where permitless and open carry are legal, why a permit is still worth having, and the rules that survive everywhere.
Self-Defense Laws by State: Stand Your Ground & Castle Doctrine
Every state says you need not flee your own home. Beyond the front door the country splits three ways - and that single distinction decides more self-defense cases than any other rule.
Gun Restrictions by State: Assault Weapons, Magazines & Red Flag Laws
Ten states ban the rifles their laws call assault weapons, 22 can remove firearms by court order, and most cap magazines at ten rounds. The restrictive side of the map.
Wyoming ranks #1 for Second Amendment freedom, scoring 10.0/10 — typically a constitutional-carry state with minimal permitting and no magazine or assault-weapon bans. The full top-to-bottom order is above.
Constitutional (permitless) carry means a law-abiding adult can carry a firearm without a government permit. These states cluster at the top of the ranking because permitless carry is one of the heaviest-weighted factors in the Second Amendment score.
New York sits at the bottom of the Second Amendment ranking, reflecting may-issue or restrictive permitting, magazine limits, red-flag laws, and firearm bans.
Each state gets a 0–10 Second Amendment score built from carry laws, permitting requirements, red-flag laws, magazine and firearm restrictions, and self-defense protections. See the methodology page for sources and weighting.