Carrying a Gun in a Bar: The Rule in All 50 States and D.C.

Carrying a gun in a bar is banned or limited by law in 25 states and D.C.; 3 more allow it sober and 22 have no state bar ban.

Originally published: November 3, 2026

Carrying a gun in a bar is legal in some states, a crime in others, and legal only with a permit or only while sober in the rest. A bar-carry law is a state statute that bans or limits firearms where alcohol is sold to drink on site, or bans carrying while drinking. Counted from each statute, 25 states and D.C. ban or limit it, 3 allow it if you do not drink, and 22 have no statewide ban. Even there, an owner, a sign or a city ordinance can still say no.

Holiday season fills the calendar with nights out: office parties, Thanksgiving-eve reunions, the bowl game at the corner tavern. Whether your pistol rides along turns on details most people never check: how much of the till comes from drinks, which room you stand in, and whether you hold a permit. The right answer for your night out is the one that fits your state’s statute, the sign on the door and how many beers you plan to have.

Carrying a Gun in a Bar, State by State

Each row was read from the state’s own statute, on the official site or a labeled Justia or public.law copy. “None in” names the chapters read that held no such rule.

The Five Kinds of Bar Laws

The strictest group (California, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and New Mexico) bans guns in restaurants that serve alcohol, not just bars. New York makes it a class E felony; New Mexico makes any firearm on liquor-licensed premises a fourth-degree felony, with one narrow exception for licensees in a beer-and-wine restaurant that gets at least 60 percent of its money from food. The biggest group bans the bar and leaves the dining room alone (and a no-ban state is not a license to drink and carry).

What Counts as a Bar?

Texas bans guns in any business that gets 51 percent or more of its income from alcohol sold for on-site drinking, as the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission determines (Penal Code § 46.03(a)(7)), and that covers everyone, licensed or not. Illinois uses more than 50 percent of receipts over three months, parking lot included; Nebraska uses more than half of total income.

Florida, Missouri, Mississippi, Wyoming and North Dakota ban only the part of the building devoted to drinking. You can eat a steak in a Florida dining room legally, then walk twenty feet to the bar and not be. Florida’s permitless carriers follow the same list under § 790.013. Missouri and Kentucky exempt restaurants that seat 50 or more and live mostly on food, and Alaska gives a defense in a licensed restaurant only if you did not drink there.

Can You Drink While Carrying?

In most states, no. Nebraska and North Carolina bar concealed carry with any alcohol still in your body. Michigan suspends a license at 0.02 percent, Minnesota bars carry above 0.04, Louisiana counts 0.05 as under the influence, and Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts and Nevada draw the line at 0.08. Arizona, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia make the drink itself a crime when you are armed in a place that serves alcohol.

Permit Holders Get More Room

A permit still matters in a bar, even in the 29 states on our constitutional carry list. Ohio bans guns in any room where people are drinking at a liquor-permit bar (a felony) but exempts license holders who are not drinking. Arizona lets permit holders into bars that have not posted the state sign, while people without one may not carry there at all. Wisconsin and North Carolina carve out license holders too. Traveling? Check our concealed carry reciprocity map.

Signs, Owners and City Rules

A sign can turn a legal bar into an illegal one. Arizona’s must hang beside the liquor license with a red-circle pictogram, Maine makes it a crime to carry into a posted liquor-licensed bar (a permit is no defense), and New Mexico’s restaurant exception ends at a no-firearms sign. Kansas allows carry in any building unless it is posted, and Colorado lets cities and counties ban concealed carry by ordinance. So a no-ban row is the starting point. Read the door.

What Happens If You Get It Wrong?

Missouri is the gentlest: for a permit holder it is not a crime, but you can be removed, and refusing to leave can earn a citation of up to $100. North Dakota calls it an infraction and Oklahoma a misdemeanor with a fine up to $250, while Ohio, New Mexico and New York charge a felony. Usually a manager spots the pistol and asks you to leave, the police come, and officers ask about your permit and your drinking (Maine lets them require a chemical test on probable cause). Keep the gun holstered, because anything that looks like a display can add a charge, which I covered in our guide to brandishing a firearm.

A Holiday Party Plan

Look up your state on the table, and if the party is across a state line, run your permit and route through our Can I Carry There? trip planner. If the venue bans guns, some states leave room in the lot: Missouri allows a gun that stays in your vehicle, New Mexico’s ban does not reach parking areas, and Wisconsin excepts a handgun unloaded and encased in a vehicle. Illinois reaches the parking area, though licensees may keep it in the car, so check your row. For the wider picture, see our concealed carry by state guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you carry a gun in a bar?

Yes, in about half the states. 25 states and D.C. ban or limit guns in bars by statute, 3 allow carry only if you do not drink, and 22 have no statewide bar ban.

Can you carry a gun in a restaurant that serves alcohol?

Yes, in most states, if you skip the bar area and the drinks. California, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey and New York ban guns in restaurants that serve alcohol, and New Mexico allows only licensees in beer-and-wine restaurants earning at least 60 percent from food.

Is it legal to drink while carrying a gun?

Not in most states. Nebraska and North Carolina bar concealed carry with any alcohol in your body, Michigan acts at 0.02 percent, and Arizona, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia make drinking while armed in a place that serves alcohol a crime by itself.

What is the 51 percent rule in Texas?

The 51 percent rule bans guns in any business that earns 51 percent or more of its income from alcohol sold for drinking on site, as determined by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. It applies with or without a license.

Does a concealed carry permit let you carry in a bar?

Only in some states. Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin let permit holders into places that serve alcohol when others may not, Arkansas lets enhanced-license holders into bars unless the place gives notice, and Mississippi’s enhanced license covers the bar area; where a state bans guns in bars outright, a permit does not help.

A bar is the one public place where the law assumes somebody will make a bad decision before closing time. Do not let it be the guy with the pistol. Carry sober or leave it home, and have a safe and legal holiday season.

Sources: Each state’s statute, linked in its own table row (official legislature sites, or Justia and public.law copies where marked); U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, “Kipke v. Moore” (Jan. 20, 2026); Florida Senate, “2025 Florida Statutes, Chapter 790”; Texas Penal Code § 46.03 (public.law).

James Nicholas

NFA Firearms Manufacturer · Professional Gunsmith for over 20 years · Firearms Writer, Photographer and Firearms Expert. The XDMAN has a talent for taking complex firearms subject matter and breaking it down into an easy-to-understand format that all experience levels can relate to.

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