Every State with a Stand Your Ground Law: Here’s the Full List

Stand your ground laws, also known as shoot first, vary by state. These laws legally allow a person to defend themselves using force when threatened. Generally, self-defense laws specify that a person must retreat if possible when faced with a threat, but stand-your-ground laws don’t require retreat. They are controversial because some people believe they lead to unnecessary violence and can be misused. Stand your ground laws began to appear in the US after a law was enacted in Florida in 2005.

24/7 Wall St. identified all states with a shoot-first or stand-your-ground law using data from Gifford’s Law Center. Though policy details can vary slightly by jurisdiction, in each state listed here, citizens are generally not obligated to retreat, even if they can safely do so, if they or others are threatened with the possibility of death or serious bodily harm in a public place, and are legally protected to use force, even with a firearm, to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.

Why Is This Important?

So-called “stand your ground” laws remove the obligation of citizens to retreat when possible if they or others are threatened with the possibility of death or serious bodily harm in a public place and are legally protected to use force to prevent the commission of a forcible felony, even with a firearm. Each of the 30 states on this list, arranged in alphabetical order, has stand-your-ground laws, also commonly known as shoot-first laws. 

Here are all the states with a shoot-first law. 

Alabama

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 26.4 per 100,000 people – 4th highest of 50 states (1315.0 total)

Alaska

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 25.2 per 100,000 people – 6th highest of 50 states (182.0 total)

Arizona

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 18.3 per 100,000 people – 17th highest of 50 states (1365.0 total)

Arkansas

arkansas (CC BY 2.0) by L. Allen Brewer

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 23.3 per 100,000 people – 8th highest of 50 states (698.0 total)

Florida

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Prohibited
• Open carry of long guns: Prohibited
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 14.1 per 100,000 people – 17th lowest of 50 states (3142.0 total)

Georgia

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 20.3 per 100,000 people – 14th highest of 50 states (2200.0 total)

Idaho

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 16.3 per 100,000 people – 25th highest of 50 states (309.0 total)

Indiana

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Permit Required
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 18.4 per 100,000 people – 16th highest of 50 states (1251.0 total)

Iowa

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 11.2 per 100,000 people – 11th lowest of 50 states (364.0 total)

Kansas

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 17.3 per 100,000 people – 21st highest of 50 states (503.0 total)

Kentucky

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 21.1 per 100,000 people – 13th highest of 50 states (947.0 total)

Louisiana

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal for residents with military service only
• Gun deaths in 2021: 29.1 per 100,000 people – 2nd highest of 50 states (1314.0 total)

Michigan

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Illegal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 15.4 per 100,000 people – 23rd lowest of 50 states (1544.0 total)

Mississippi

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 33.9 per 100,000 people – the highest of 50 states (962.0 total)

Missouri

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 23.2 per 100,000 people – 9th highest of 50 states (1414.0 total)

Montana

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 25.1 per 100,000 people – 7th highest of 50 states (280.0 total)

Nevada

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Illegal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 19.8 per 100,000 people – 15th highest of 50 states (633.0 total)

New Hampshire

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 8.3 per 100,000 people – 7th lowest of 50 states (123.0 total)

North Carolina

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Illegal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 17.3 per 100,000 people – 20th highest of 50 states (1839.0 total)

North Dakota

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 16.8 per 100,000 people – 22nd highest of 50 states (128.0 total)

Ohio

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 16.5 per 100,000 people – 24th highest of 50 states (1911.0 total)

Oklahoma

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 21.2 per 100,000 people – 12th highest of 50 states (836.0 total)

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania State Capitol, Ha... (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Warren LeMay

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Illegal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 14.8 per 100,000 people – 20th lowest of 50 states (1905.0 total)

South Carolina

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Permit Required
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Illegal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 22.4 per 100,000 people – 11th highest of 50 states (1136.0 total)

South Dakota

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 14.3 per 100,000 people – 18th lowest of 50 states (128.0 total)

Tennessee

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 22.8 per 100,000 people – 10th highest of 50 states (1569.0 total)

Texas

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 15.6 per 100,000 people – 24th lowest of 50 states (4613.0 total)

Utah

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 13.9 per 100,000 people – 16th lowest of 50 states (450.0 total)

West Virginia

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 17.3 per 100,000 people – 19th highest of 50 states (319.0 total)

Wyoming

• Obligation to retreat from dangerous confrontations in public: No
• Open carry of handguns: Allowed
• Open carry of long guns: Allowed
• Permitless concealed carry: Legal
• Gun deaths in 2021: 26.1 per 100,000 people – 5th highest of 50 states (155.0 total)