Gun Law Maps and Charts
Eleven free gun law maps and references, all in the page. Every one of them answers the same shape of question: what does the law say where I live, and what changes the moment I cross a state line.
Ten state-by-state references covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia, plus a plain-English glossary.
| Reference | The question it answers | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Concealed Carry Reciprocity Map | Where does my permit work? | Pick your permit state and see every state that honors it, and every state that does not. |
| Concealed Carry Reciprocity Guide | How does reciprocity actually work? | What a reciprocity agreement is, how states differ, and the traps that catch travelers. |
| Concealed Carry by State | What does my state require? | Permit, permitless and reciprocity rules for every state in one hub. |
| Constitutional Carry States | Which states need no permit? | The full current list, what permitless carry does and does not cover, and why a permit can still be worth holding. |
| Open Carry Laws by State | Can I carry openly here? | Open carry rules for every state, with permit requirements and the places it stays off limits. |
| Stand Your Ground Laws by State | Is there a duty to retreat where I live? | Every state’s position on stand your ground, with the statute behind it. |
| Castle Doctrine vs Stand Your Ground | What is the difference? | The two doctrines compared in plain words, then all 50 states sorted by which they apply. |
| Magazine Capacity Limits by State | Is this magazine legal here? | Every state’s limit, what counts, and what happens to magazines you already own. |
| Body Armor Laws by State | Can I buy and wear body armor? | Purchase, possession and wear rules for all 51 jurisdictions, including the federal bar. |
| Pepper Spray Laws by State | What can I carry? | Size limits, age limits and where it is restricted, state by state. |
| Firearms and 2A Legal Glossary | What does this term mean? | Plain-English definitions for the NFA, carry and gun-law language that shows up in every one of these references. |
Which gun law maps do you need
You are driving somewhere and you carry. Start with the reciprocity map, then read the reciprocity guide before you go. The map tells you which states honor your permit. The guide tells you the part that catches people out: honoring a permit is not the same as having the same rules. A state can recognize your permit and still ban carry in places your home state allows, still require you to tell an officer you are armed, still treat your vehicle differently.
You live somewhere that just changed its law. Concealed carry by state and the constitutional carry list are the two to check. Permitless carry is the change that gets misread most often, because it removes the permit requirement without removing the places you still cannot carry and without helping you at all the moment you leave the state.
You want to understand what you may lawfully do if you are threatened. Read castle doctrine versus stand your ground first, because most people use the two terms as though they mean the same thing and they do not. Then check your own state on the stand your ground page. The difference between a duty to retreat and no duty to retreat is the difference between two completely different legal positions.
You are buying a magazine, a vest or a canister. The magazine capacity, body armor and pepper spray pages each cover all fifty states. These are the three areas where an ordinary purchase in one state becomes a criminal offense in another, and where people most often assume federal law settles it. It does not.
You keep hitting words you do not know. The glossary is there for that. Legal writing about firearms is dense with terms that carry a specific meaning, and guessing at one of them is how people end up confidently wrong.
What these gun law maps are built on
Each page is built from state statutes, attorney general guidance and court decisions, with the source named on the page so you can read it yourself rather than take our word for it. Where courts have not settled a question, the page says the question is unsettled instead of picking an answer and presenting it as law. Where a state’s own agencies disagree with each other, which happens more than you would hope, the page says that too.
When a law changes, the page is corrected in place. It is not republished at a new address with the year in it, and the old version is not left standing alongside the new one. That matters more here than anywhere else on this network, because a saved link to a gun law page that has quietly gone stale is worse than no link at all.
None of this is legal advice and none of it is a substitute for asking a lawyer in your state. It is a reference, kept honest, and it tells you where it came from.
How these are kept current
Each reference carries its own updated date. Everything runs in the page you are reading, with no sign-in and no email form between you and the answer.
One from elsewhere in the network: Popular Suppressors’ state suppressor map if the question is about suppressors rather than carry.
Questions and answers
Do I need an account?
No. Every reference here is open, in the page, with no email gate.
Is this legal advice?
No. These are references built from state statutes, attorney general guidance and court decisions, with the source named. Laws change and enforcement varies. Confirm with the state before you act.
How current are they?
Each page carries its own updated date and is corrected in place when a law changes, rather than being republished under a new address.
Can I embed a map?
Yes. The reciprocity map has an embed link under it, with attribution.
My permit state is not on the map. What now?
Every state that issues a permit is covered. If you cannot find yours, check whether you are looking for the issuing state rather than the state you are traveling to — the map is built around where your permit came from.
Which page should I read first?
If you carry and you travel, the reciprocity map. If you only carry at home, concealed carry by state. If you are trying to understand self-defense law, castle doctrine versus stand your ground.
When a statute moves, these gun law maps are corrected in place the same week, at the address you already saved.
Data updated September 2026