Gun Control in the US: Laws, Courts and Public Opinion

This deep dive reflects laws, court rulings and data available as of Oct. 31, 2026. The Supreme Court hears arguments on state assault weapon bans on Dec. 2, and this page will be updated after that case is decided.

Overview

The United States is unusual among wealthy democracies in treating gun ownership as a constitutional right, and in the scale of both its civilian gun stock and its gun deaths. In 2024, 44,447 people died from gunshot injuries, according to CDC figures compiled by the Pew Research Center. That total fell for the third straight year, driven by a 27% drop in gun homicides from their 2021 peak. Gun suicides, however, reached a record 27,593 and now make up about 62% of all gun deaths.

That split shapes the debate. Much of the public argument centers on mass shootings and so-called assault weapons, which account for a small share of deaths. Handguns are used in most gun murders where the weapon type is known, and suicide is the largest single category of gun death.

This page does not take a side. It sets out how each side frames the issue, where the law stands, what has changed recently, and which questions remain open.

The Competing Frames

The gun-safety frame treats firearm deaths as a public health problem that policy can reduce. Supporters point to the US death toll compared with peer countries, research linking gun access to suicide risk, and the damage of high-profile mass shootings. They tend to favor universal background checks, waiting periods, red flag laws, permit requirements and limits on certain weapons and magazines.

The gun-rights frame treats firearm ownership as an individual constitutional right and a means of self-defense. Supporters argue that restrictions burden law-abiding owners while criminals ignore them, that the vast majority of the nearly 400 million guns in civilian hands, as estimated by the Small Arms Survey, are never misused, and that violence is better addressed by enforcing existing laws and targeting repeat offenders. Many also see gun ownership as a check on government power.

The two frames often talk past each other. One side measures policy by deaths prevented, while the other measures it by rights preserved. Areas of overlap exist, including keeping guns from people found to be dangerous, but the two sides disagree sharply on who should decide that and how.

The Policy Spectrum

US gun policy positions fall roughly along this range, from most to least restrictive:

Broad restrictions: bans on semiautomatic rifles described as assault weapons and on magazines holding more than 10 rounds, licensing for all owners, and registration.
Targeted regulation: universal background checks covering private sales, red flag laws allowing courts to temporarily remove guns from people judged dangerous, waiting periods and safe-storage requirements.
Current federal baseline: background checks for sales by licensed dealers, bans on possession by certain groups such as people with felony convictions, and tight controls on machine guns.
Expanded carry rights: carrying a concealed handgun without a permit, often called “constitutional carry,” and fewer locations where carrying is banned.
Deregulation: removing federal registration rules, rolling back age limits, and allowing licenses from one state to be valid in all others.

The State Map

Because federal law changes rarely, most gun policy happens at the state level, and states have moved in opposite directions. Twenty-nine states now allow permitless carry, most of them in the South, Midwest and Mountain West, with Louisiana and South Carolina the most recent to join in 2024. At the other end, states including California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland and Massachusetts ban assault weapons, cap magazine capacity and require permits to buy or carry. Around 20 states, a mix of Democratic and Republican-led, have red flag laws.

Gun death rates track this divide, though the direction of cause and effect is disputed. Pew’s state data shows the highest age-adjusted gun death rates in 2024 in Mississippi, New Mexico, Alaska, Alabama and Wyoming, and the lowest in Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Gun-safety advocates cite this as evidence that stricter laws work. Gun-rights advocates respond that rural states have higher suicide rates and gun ownership for reasons unrelated to law, and that some cities with strict laws still have high homicide rates.

Where the Public Stands

The most recent Gallup reading found 56% of adults wanting stricter laws on gun sales, 33% wanting them kept as they are, and 10% wanting them less strict. In that October 2024 poll, support for banning semiautomatic assault rifles was 52%, down from 61% in 2019. The partisan divide is wide: 89% of Democrats favored stricter laws, compared with 25% of Republicans. This article could not locate a Gallup update on these questions from 2025 or 2026, so these figures may not reflect current opinion.

Polling has long found broader support for specific measures such as background checks on all gun sales than for general calls for “stricter laws.” That gap is one reason both sides argue over how questions are worded.

Recent Changes

Federal deregulation. The 2025 budget law reduced to zero the $200 federal tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns. A federal judge in Texas then ruled in August 2026 that, without the tax, Congress could no longer justify the National Firearms Act’s registration requirements for those items, and the Justice Department declined to seek a stay. In October, the ATF announced it would no longer require federal registration or advance approval for those items nationwide. Machine guns remain regulated, and dealer background checks still apply. Gun-rights groups called the change historic, while gun-control groups said it loosens rules on easily concealed weapons.

The Supreme Court’s 2025-26 term. In United States v. Hemani, decided in June 2026, the Court ruled that the federal government could not prosecute a regular marijuana user under the ban on gun possession by drug users, at least on the facts of that case. Writing for the majority, Justice Gorsuch found that historical laws on “habitual drunkards” were not close enough analogues to justify the ban as applied. A week later, in Wolford v. Lopez, the Court struck down 6-3 a Hawaii rule that barred permit holders from carrying on private property open to the public unless the owner gave express permission.

Assault weapons bans in the courts. In July 2026, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that New Jersey’s assault weapons ban and its 10-round magazine limit were unconstitutional, the first federal appeals court to strike down such a ban. New Jersey’s attorney general noted that every other circuit to consider the question had upheld similar laws. The New Jersey law remains in effect while the state seeks Supreme Court review.

Active Debates

The Dec. 2 Supreme Court argument. The Court agreed to hear two cases challenging assault weapon bans: Viramontes v. Cook County, from Illinois, and Grant v. Higgins, from Connecticut. Lower courts upheld both laws, finding that AR-15-style rifles are either outside Second Amendment protection or fall within a historical tradition of regulating unusually dangerous weapons. Challengers argue that the rifles are among the most popular firearms in the country and are therefore protected under the Court’s 2008 Heller decision. A ruling is expected by mid-2027 and could decide the fate of similar laws in every state that has one.

The Bruen test. Since its 2022 Bruen decision, the Court has required gun laws to fit the nation’s “historical tradition” of firearm regulation. Lower courts have reached conflicting results applying that test, and in Hemani, Justices Jackson and Sotomayor called the framework unworkable. Supporters of the test say it protects the right from being weighed away by judges’ policy views.

Suicide prevention. With gun suicides at a record, some on both sides have turned to approaches outside traditional gun-control fights, such as voluntary safe storage, temporary transfers of guns during a crisis, and partnerships between gun shops and mental health groups. Red flag laws remain contested, with supporters citing suicide prevention and opponents raising due process concerns.

Federal legislation. The last major federal gun law, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, expanded background checks for buyers under 21 and funded state crisis programs. With Congress closely divided, neither new restrictions nor national concealed-carry reciprocity has advanced in 2026. The Justice Department has also revived a process allowing people barred from owning guns to apply to have their rights restored. Supporters describe it as fairness for people who have turned their lives around, while critics warn it could return guns to people who remain dangerous.

View from Outside the US

US civilians hold an estimated 120 guns per 100 residents, the highest rate in the world, based on the Small Arms Survey’s 2017 estimate, the most recent comprehensive global count. Several other countries changed their laws sharply after mass shootings: Britain effectively banned private handguns after the 1996 Dunblane school shooting, and Australia banned many semiautomatic long guns and bought back hundreds of thousands of weapons after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Researchers continue to debate how much of those countries’ low gun death rates stems from the laws themselves. For a fuller comparison, see PoliTalking’s global guide, Gun Control: The Global Picture.

Discussion Questions

Are guns common where you live? How do people there view gun ownership?
Should gun ownership be treated as a basic right or as a privilege that requires a license?
Why do you think debates focus on mass shootings when most gun deaths are suicides?
Which matters more in gun policy: preventing deaths or protecting rights?
Should the Supreme Court use history to decide which gun laws are allowed?
Do you think red flag laws are a fair way to prevent violence?
Why might people support background checks but oppose “stricter gun laws” in general?
Should states set their own gun laws, or should there be one national standard?
What can other countries’ experiences teach the US about gun policy, if anything?
Imagine you are a member of Congress. What gun law would you propose, and why?

Gun Control in the US: Where Things Stand