The gun control category measures the direct costs of gun laws to gun owners and dealers.
Bottom 5
36 - 45
26 - 35
16 - 25
6 - 15
Top 5

Kansas #1 Guns

Fiscal
#38
Personal
#31
Regulatory
#1
±0
CHANGE since 2016

Gun Rights Rankings

1. Kansas ±0
3. Arizona ±0
3. Idaho +1
5. Vermont -3
6. Kentucky +14
6. Mississippi -1
6. Wyoming +1
10. South Dakota +5
11. North Dakota +18
12. Missouri -4
13. Alaska -4
14. Maine -4
15. Arkansas +21
16. Oklahoma +18
17. Pennsylvania -5
18. Utah -5
19. Wisconsin -5
20. Colorado -3
21. Alabama -5
22. Oregon -4
23. Georgia -4
24. Tennessee -3
25. Virginia -3
26. Indiana -3
27. Montana -2
28. Ohio -2
29. Nevada -2
31. Texas -1
32. Louisiana ±0
33. New Mexico -2
34. Michigan -1
35. North Carolina ±0
36. Iowa +2
37. Minnesota ±0
38. Florida +1
39. Washington -15
40. Nebraska ±0
41. Illinois ±0
42. Delaware ±0
43. New York ±0
44. Connecticut ±0
45. Maryland ±0
46. Rhode Island ±0
47. New Jersey ±0
48. Massachusetts ±0
49. California ±0
50. Hawaii ±0
 

Freedom in the 50 States

This edition again improves on the methodology for weighting and combining state and local policies to create a comprehensive index. Authors William Ruger and Jason Sorens introduce many new policy variables suggested by readers and changes in the broader policy environment (for example, vaping regulations). More than 230 policy variables and their sources remain available to the public on this website.

Meet the Authors

William Ruger
William Ruger
William Ruger is Vice President for Research and Policy at the Charles Koch Institute and Vice President for Foreign Policy at Stand Together (where he leads the Koch network’s foreign policy initiative). He was previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University. Ruger earned his PhD in Politics from Brandeis University and an AB from the College of William and Mary. His scholarship has appeared in a number of academic journals, including International Studies Quarterly, Civil Wars, and Armed Forces and Society. He is the author of the biography Milton Friedman and a coauthor of two books on state politics, including Freedom in the 50 States. Ruger has written op-eds for a number of outlets, such as the New York Times, SA Today, and Foreign Affairs, and he has been interviewed frequently for television and radio, appearing on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. Ruger is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and an officer in the U.S. Navy (Reserve Component). Ruger was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and was appointed by the president to the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in 2020. He lives with his wife and two sons in Virginia.
Jason Sorens
Jason Sorens
Jason Sorens is Director of the Center for Ethics in Society at Saint Anselm College and received his PhD in political science from Yale University in 2003. He has researched and written more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and a book, Secessionism (McGill–Queen’s University Press). His research has focused on independence movements around the world, the theory and practice of fiscal federalism, and subnational economic policymaking. He has founded two non-profits, the Free State Project and Ethics and Economics Education. He lives with his wife and daughters in New Hampshire.