Top Armed States

[Andy in NH]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-28/states-with-the-most-guns/full/

The Supreme Court yesterday declared the right to bear arms is a federal mandate. The Daily Beast crunched the numbers to determine which states pack the most guns, and which sport the least.

The Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday that an individual’s right to bear arms, as set out by the Second Amendment, applies to state and local gun-control laws, and gives federal judges the power to nix weapons rules that they feel violate the freedom to keep and carry firearms.

Legal challenges to current state laws and new regulations are ahead, but certain states may feel the pressure more than others. To see which states may soon see more restrictions and which may be challenged to loosen current stipulations, The Daily Beast decided to rank the state of arms of the states.

• John Avlon: The Obama Gun Grab Myth There is no federal agency or clearinghouse that monitors the sale or ownership of guns.

But based on background checks performed by the FBI, there were more than 14 million gun-purchasing transactions in 2009—10 percent more than in 2008. Of course, a person buying three guns in a single transaction is vetted by a single background check, so the volume of background checks does not illustrate the total number of guns purchased, or the total number of people who bought a gun. Still, the statistics on background checks provide the most accurate window into the localities where the firearm industry is flourishing.

Those statistics show a country divided. If you want see how a state votes, it seems, just check out its gun ownership: All 10 of the most armed states voted for John McCain in 2008. All 10 of the least armed (including the District of Columbia) voted for Barack Obama.

For our rankings, we considered state data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System for the last 18 months. We divided the number of background checks by each state’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 estimates.

One stipulation: States are not completely consistent in reporting of NICS data. Some states use the system for background checks on purchases on the secondary market and others do not. As well, Kentucky implemented monthly NICS checks on concealed weapons, which has inflated its numbers.

1, Kentucky
Population:4,314,113
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents (Dec. 2008 – May 2010): 134,028

2, Utah
Population:2,784,572
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 30,315

3, Montana
Population:974,989
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 25,745

4, Wyoming
Population:544,270
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 22,827

5, Alaska
Population:698,473
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 22,273

6, West Virginia
Population:1,819,777
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 21,455

7, South Dakota
Population:812,383
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 19,062

8, North Dakota
Population:646,844
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 17,829

9, Arkansas
Population:2,889,450
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 17,483

10, Alabama
Population:4,708,708
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 16,860

11, Tennessee
Population: 6,296,254
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 16,684

12, Oklahoma
Population: 3,687,050
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 15,801

13, Idaho
Population: 1,545,801
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 15,764

14, Colorado
Population: 5,024,748
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 15,086

15, Missouri
Population: 5,987,580
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 14,712

16, New Hampshire
Population: 1,324,575
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 14,522

17, Mississippi
Population: 2,951,996
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 14,165

18, Illinois
Population: 12,910,409
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,879

19, Connecticut
Population: 3,518,288
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,783

20, New Mexico
Population: 2,009,671
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,408

21, Louisiana
Population: 4,492,076
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,329

22, Minnesota
Population: 5,266,214
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,285

23, Kansas
Population: 2,818,747
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 12,516

24, Washington
Population: 6,664,195
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 12,508

25, Pennsylvania
Population: 12,604,767
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 12,449

26, Oregon
Population: 3,825,657
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 12,059

27, Indiana
Population: 6,423,113
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,614

28, South Carolina
Population: 4,561,242
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,578

29, Maine
Population: 1,318,301
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,528

30, Virginia
Population: 7,882,590
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,134

31, Iowa
Population: 3,007,856
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,127

32, Nevada
Population: 2,643,085
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,115

33, Texas
Population: 24,782,302
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,936

34, North Carolina
Population: 9,380,884
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,411

35, Vermont
Population: 621,760
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,366

36, Georgia
Population: 9,829,211
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,200

37, Michigan
Population: 9,969,727
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,030

38, Wisconsin
Population: 5,654,774
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,534

39, Ohio
Population: 11,542,645
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,491

40, Nebraska
Population: 1,796,619
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,081

41, Arizona
Population: 6,595,778
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,954

42, Florida
Population: 18,537,969
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,510

43, Delaware
Population: 885,122
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,636

44, California
Population: 36,961,664
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,444

45, Maryland
Population: 5,699,478
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 4,040

46, Massachusetts
Population: 6,593,587
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 3,796

47, Rhode Island
Population: 1,053,209
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 3,504

48, New York
Population: 19,541,453
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 3,047

49, Hawaii
Population: 1,295,178
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 2,031

50, New Jersey
Population: 8,707,739
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 1,536

51, Washington, D.C.
Population: 599,657
NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 155

 

[pdm]

So MA license holders bought at least 250k guns in that year? Damn it, we're slipping guys. One a month!

 

[buketduder]

Nice to see Connecticut in the top 20!!!! Lets keep going!!

 

[OCB]

I wonder if Utah's numbers are also inflated due to background checks for non-resident licenses.

 

[edhead35]

Kentucky rules, they are above 100%

 

[Fixxah]

What about the other 7 states?

 

[Dr_Scholl]

Only no. 30? Virginia's got some work to do. How the hell did we get beat out by Illinois and Connecticut?

 

[buketduder]

If you have been in a CT Gun Store in the past 18 months it would be easy to understand..although its getting better...people are/were going nuts buying guns...I saw a guy drop 15k on guns just like that..hedge fund guy...

 

[terraformer]

Kentucky rules, they are above 100%

As well, Kentucky implemented monthly NICS checks on concealed weapons, which has inflated its numbers.

.

 

[Speedway]

This does not take into account C&R purchases.... That would sway the numbers quite a bit.

 

[KMaurer]

I wonder if Utah's numbers are also inflated due to background checks for non-resident licenses.

Nope. License background checks aren't covered by the NICS System.

BTW, the Obama effect is beyond any reasonable doubt. John Lott posted a couple of graphs of the check data on his web site and commented on the effect. I didn't think that the graphs showed that clear an increase in checks starting with the '08 election, so I downloaded all the data from the FBI and ran a time-series analysis on it I included a simple trend as well as individual monthly variables to adjust for seasonal variation. I put in a general presidential election factor for the 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections, plus a separate one for the 2008 election. The one for the 2008 election was significantly larger than for either of the other two elections (p<0.00001).

Ken

 

[KBCraig]

NICS/100,000 population is a stupid criteria for determining gun ownership rates. I own roughly three dozen guns, exactly two of which involved a NICS check.

In most of America, citizens are free to buy and sell from each other without involving the government at all. No permission or notification is needed. I don't remember exactly how many states' carry licenses serve as a substitute for NICS, but I think it's about 17. So for those states, the most active purchasers never get routed through NICS.

 

[ShadeWPI]

Kentucky rules, they are above 100%

Kentucky is now doing a monthy check on all Concealled Carry License holders so that if they fail a NICS check the state can pull their licence, so you'd need to remove 12x their number of CCW license holders from that count.

Also, remember, multiple gun purchases at the same time typically results in a single NICS request.

Even with Face to Face transfers in NH, we still managed to generate 192, 354 NICS checks.

 

[SMagee]

Look at the HUGE drop off percentage wise after Florida. All the restrictive Sheople Law/Restrictive States.

 

[Skald]

I'm shocked where FL ranks. Then again a lot of private sales. At the gunshow a couple years ago I only had to go through 1 NICS check for purchasing 7 guns.

 

[CrossFrire]

West "By Gawd!" Virginia - #6.
Another reason I like it here so much.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

There are other things to consider. In Alaska, for instance, LTCs are not required but can be obtained by residents. The LTC will serve as a NICS check as long as it is current. Jack.

 

[drgrant]

I'm shocked where FL ranks. Then again a lot of private sales. At the gunshow a couple years ago I only had to go through 1 NICS check for purchasing 7 guns.

I'm not....

NICS activity is a poor reflection of actual ownership rates. It's only a metric of "people buying guns at dealers" (and even at that, there are plenty of other reasons for NICS checks that don't involve buying a new gun) not the percentage of those actually armed. AZ and FL have a TON of gun owners in relative terms, but that doesn't necessarily mean those people are buying new guns all the time. Both of those states also have gigantic transient populations of foreigners and elderly people from other states that probably screw with the results, as well, by inflating the population numbers.

It would be kind of interesting, say, to run some sort of longitudinal gun owner survey. I think people would be surprised at the results.

-Mike

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Also, the FBI conducts NICS checks for ALL firearms transactions in only 33 states. Jack.

 

[KBCraig]

In a poor economy, people turn to pawn shops. When you redeem a pawned gun, you have to go through NICS, even though the ownership never changed.

 

[GSG]

Only no. 30? Virginia's got some work to do. How the hell did we get beat out by Illinois and Connecticut?

Probably because those two states highly restrict FTF sales, so most have to be routed through an FFL. They have a much greater selection of guns available to them through FFL's than people in Mass. do, and both of those states also make it much easier for someone to buy a gun than Mass. does.

This does not take into account C&R purchases.... That would sway the numbers quite a bit.

Or private purchases, or people legally buying long guns from FFL's in other states.

NICS/100,000 population is a stupid criteria for determining gun ownership rates. I own roughly three dozen guns, exactly two of which involved a NICS check.

In most of America, citizens are free to buy and sell from each other without involving the government at all. No permission or notification is needed. I don't remember exactly how many states' carry licenses serve as a substitute for NICS, but I think it's about 17. So for those states, the most active purchasers never get routed through NICS.

+1, this list is interesting but worthless for what they're trying to show.

for a state that ranks 46, MA sure does make a lot of noise about rights... and then fails to support organizations like GOAL, etc., out there defending those rights all day long.

When you consider the low population of people who can legally buy guns in MA FFL's (remember, no non-residents can buy guns in MA), the shrinking number of FFL's in the state, the small number of handguns that can be transferred through an FFL and the increased cost of "Mass. compliant" guns passed on to the consumer by the manufacturer and by gun owners screwing other gun owners on price, the numbers make sense.

But I agree with you that people don't do nearly enough to support GOAL in Mass.

Kentucky is now doing a monthy check on all Concealled Carry License holders so that if they fail a NICS check the state can pull their licence

That's just wonderful. So now any time someone gets their ID stolen or has a common name and fails a NICS check they can't carry a gun in that state?

 

[buketduder]

CT does make every handgun sale go through the state (No FFL needed.you just call a number, give permit number and get an "authorization number")..BUT private long gun sales require no FFL or any paperwork at all...

 

[GSG]

CT does make every handgun sale go through the state (No FFL needed.you just call a number, give permit number and get an "authorization number")..BUT private long gun sales require no FFL or any paperwork at all...

My only point is that in most of the US all private sales are very simple, do a quick ID check and hand it to them. There is considerably less hassle involved for FTF sales in free states, but in a lot of states it makes a lot more sense to go through an FFL, or is legally required.

 

[buketduder]

I fully agree!!!...meant no disrespect!

 

[Jose]

I wonder if Utah's numbers are also inflated due to background checks for non-resident licenses.

Those background checks do not go through NICS.

 

[GSG]

I fully agree!!!...meant no disrespect!

I didn't think you did, I was simply clarifying what I said.

 

[ChikkenNoodul]

I'm surprised NY is so low, even taking out the 8 million NYC residents, that only puts it one or two places ahead of MA.

 

[bolt]

These numbers are are skewed, as they do not reflect "used" FTF transactions with papers or not as is legal in many states.

 

[SteelShooter]

I wonder how the USA ranks vs other countries including armies for total guns?

 

[NHAtHeart]

Just an interesting fact, I ran the numbers for violent crimes in 2007 (not the same year but close) had only a 5.56% correlation between ranking in NICS checks and ranking in violent crimes. Meaning there is almost no connection at all to firearm purchasing behaviors and the level of violent crime.

Oh, accept for one very GLARING detail, D.C. was ranked 51st in NICS checks and 1st (by more then double) in violent crimes, go figure.