In These States, It’s Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• We used data from the Gifford’s Law Center to identify states with a shoot-first law
• Over half the states in the US have some type of stand-your-grand law
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When Clint Eastwood spoke the words “Go ahead, make my day” as “Dirty” Harry Calahan in the movie “Sudden Impact,” he created a persona that imprinted on the minds of Americans for generations to follow. In recent years, some states have even given their own stand-your-ground laws the nickname “the Make My Day” law. The basic principle of stand-your-ground is to protect a citizen against an intruder in their own homes by allowing them to have the right to use reasonable force. Sometimes, reasonable force can include deadly force.

Many states have enacted and expanded this doctrine with additional principles. These created similar “stand your ground” laws, allowing individuals to use deadly force in public spaces under certain circumstances, even if they have the option to retreat safely. Each state has its own version and while similar, there are significant differences.

Stand-your-ground laws apply anywhere and permit the use of relative force to defend yourself reasonably anywhere you have a right to be, while the Castle Doctrine applies to your home and allows the use of deadly force against intruders in your own home.

According to the Giffords Law Center, a gun advocacy group, these laws diverge from the legal traditions in the United States and, in the case of stand-your-ground laws, increase the likelihood of avoidable violence and death. In states with weak gun control regulations, this is especially true if firearms are involved, which they often are. Florida is a good illustration of this, where firearm homicide rose by 32% after the enactment of stand-your-ground laws in 2005.

24/7 Wall St. identified all states with a shoot-first law by 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.

The majority of states have a castle doctrine in some form or another, and most states on this list allow residents to carry concealed firearms in most public spaces without a permit, which substantially increases the risk of otherwise avoidable, deadly violence. Nine of the ten states with the highest firearm mortality rates are on this list, according to 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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

• 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

• 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)

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