Conceal Carry Laws

Concealed carry laws vary by state and this should be taken as a general listing of laws by state.  Please contact your state for the specific statutes concerning concealed carry.

In Practice?

A few states do not behave in practice the way the law states that they should.  Hawaii and Alabama are opposites.  The state of Hawaii's law is written in such a way that they are a shall-issue state, but County Sheriff's have stated that they will not approve any concealed carry permit.  Alabama, however, is a May-Issue state by law, but Sheriffs approve permits for almost anyone, making it a Shall-Issue state in practice.

No-Issue States

No-Issue states do not issue concealed carry permits to anyone.  These states include:

• Washington D.C.
• Wisconsin
• Illinois
• Hawaii (May-Issue by law, No-Issue in practice)

May-Issue states "may issue" concealed carry permits according to criteria specified by state law.  May issue states have a wide latitude in deciding who gets a permit and who doesn't. 

May-Issue states include:

• Alabama (May Issue by law, Shall Issue in practice)
• California
• Connecticut
• Massachusetts
• Maryland
• New York
• New York City
• New Jersey
• Delaware

Shall-Issue States

Shall-Issue states are, in most cases, forced by state law to issue a permit if a person meets the criteria set by that state law and are not able to prevent a person who qualifies from obtaining a permit.  Most states in the United States are Shall-Issue states and these include:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Indiaa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wyoming
• Iowa (as of January 2011)