Public Places
Public Places
What is the problem?
Carrying a gun in public is a tremendous responsibility. Common-sense public safety laws help keep guns out of places where they don’t belong. They also ensure that people who carry concealed guns in public have undergone a background check and gun owner safety training.
Many states lack common-sense public safety laws that ensure core public safety standards are met prior to carrying guns in public. Many also fail to prohibit guns in sensitive areas where guns don’t belong. Public safety laws should be implemented to prevent violent criminals and people who pose a threat to public safety from carrying guns and ensure that those carrying guns in our communities are trained in basic safety techniques. In addition, effective laws discourage violent conflict and encourage people to deescalate confrontations rather than using deadly force.
What are the solutions?
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Require Permits to Carry Concealed Guns in Public
It is legal to carry a concealed handgun in public in all 50 states. States have traditionally required a person to have a permit to carry a loaded, concealed handgun in public. States should not allow the carry of concealed guns in public without one.
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Strong Standards for Carrying Concealed Guns in Public
Carrying guns in public is a tremendous responsibility. States should set strong minimum standards for carrying concealed guns in public to ensure that people who are too dangerous or irresponsible to carry guns in our communities are blocked from doing so.
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Block Concealed Carry Reciprocity
Federal concealed carry reciprocity (CCR) legislation would gut state standards for who may carry hidden, loaded handguns in public. CCR would force each state to recognize the concealed carry standards from every other state, even those that have dramatically weaker standards—and those that don’t require any permit at all.
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Repeal Shoot First Laws
Shoot First, also known as Stand Your Ground, laws allow a person to shoot and kill another person in a public area even when there are clear and safe ways to retreat from a dangerous situation. These laws threaten public safety by encouraging armed vigilantism.
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Prohibit Guns in Sensitive Areas
All fifty states and the District of Columbia allow civilians to carry concealed guns in public places. Laws differ in each state, but certain sensitive areas are always unsafe for guns.
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Prohibit Open Carry
Carrying firearms visibly in public, known as open carry, is a dangerous policy. It is exploited by white supremacists and opposed by law enforcement and the public. Members of hate groups regularly openly carry guns in a show of intimidation.
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Keep Guns off Campus
Guns have no place on college campuses. Campuses have unique risk factors, such as high rates of mental illness and an increased use of alcohol and drugs, that make the presence of guns potentially deadly.
Featured Resources
Armed Assembly: Guns, Demonstrations, and Political Violence in America
Armed demonstrations are nearly six times as likely to turn violent or destructive compared to unarmed demonstrations.
The Role of Guns & Armed Extremism in the Attack on the U.S. Capitol
The attack on the U.S. Capitol is the latest demonstration of the danger armed extremism poses to our democracy.
Armed COVID-19 Protests Exploit Open Carry Loophole
Lawmakers should close the open carry loophole and regulate open carry, particularly at demonstrations held on capitol grounds.
Permitless Carry: Carrying a Concealed Gun in Public with No Permit and No Training
Permitless carry legislation is part of the NRA’s broader agenda to weaken and repeal important gun safety measures.
All Resources
Public Places
All Resources
Gun Violence Is Down in Our Cities. Why Not Also in Our Schools?
Report
New Data, Same Conclusion: Smart Gun Laws Save Lives
Everytown's Gun Law Rankings show a clear correlation between states with strong gun laws and lower rates of gun violence.
Everytown Research & Policy
How Can We Prevent Gun Violence in American Schools?
School leaders and policymakers must support and implement strong gun safety laws and school-based interventions.
Fact Sheet
Road Rage Shootings Are Continuing to Surge
Reports of road rage shootings have increased significantly during the pandemic. With easy access to guns, road rage can turn deadly.
Everytown Research & PolicyArmed Extremism Primer: Oath Keepers
The Oath Keepers organize around conspiracy theories and propaganda about the reasonable regulation of firearms.
Fact Sheet
Cómo detener los tiroteos y la violencia armada en las escuelas: Un plan para mantener seguros a los estudiantes
Necesitamos acciones significativas para mantener nuestras escuelas y las comunidades circundantes seguras en los Estados Unidos.
Report
How To Stop Shootings and Gun Violence in Schools: A Plan to Keep Students Safe
We need meaningful actions to keep our schools safe, actions that address what we know about gun violence in America’s schools.
Report
Gun Thefts from Cars: The Largest Source of Stolen Guns
Gun thefts from cars are the largest source of stolen guns—one that continues rising in parallel with rates of gun sales and violence.
Everytown Research & Policy
Robos de armas en vehículos: la fuente más grande de armas robadas
Una investigación de Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund revela que los robos de armas en vehículos son la mayor fuente de armas robadas.
Everytown Research & Policy
The Economic Cost of Gun Violence
In an average year, gun violence in America kills 40,000 people, wounds nearly twice as many, and costs our nation $557 billion.
Report
Armed Extremism Primer: Sovereign Citizens
Sovereign citizens fall under the umbrella of the wider right-wing anti-government extremist movement, which can include fixation on guns.
Fact SheetCalculate the Economic Cost of Gun Violence
Examining the economic consequences of gun violence is paramount to understanding just how extensive and expensive this crisis is.
Data ToolArmed Extremism Primer: The Boogaloo
The boogaloo movement has risen to national prominence as a new and dangerous subset of the extreme right in the United States.
Fact Sheet
More Than Brawlers: The Proud Boys and Armed Extremism
Many far-right groups, including the Proud Boys, use fearmongering and conspiracy theories in an attempt to stop any reform of gun laws.
Fact Sheet
The Danger of Guns on Campus
Guns on campus are likely to lead to more shootings, homicides, and suicides, and they’re unlikely to prevent mass shootings.
Fact Sheet
Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines
Many of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States have been carried out with assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Fact SheetStolen Guns Pose a Tremendous Risk to Public Safety
Thousands of guns are stolen every year and often wind up at crime scenes. Stolen guns pose a tremendous risk to public safety.
Fact Sheet
“Concealed Carry Reciprocity” Would Force States to Rely On Concealed Carry Permits Issued By States with Ineffective Systems
Some states have such poorly administered permitting systems that many prohibited individuals end up receiving permits to carry.
Fact SheetState-by-State Danger of Overriding Concealed Carry Laws
While all 50 states allow the concealed carry of firearms, standards for carrying vary dramatically across the country.
Fact SheetThe Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act Overrides State Laws & Puts Communities at Risk
Concealed carry reciprocity would force each state to recognize the concealed carry standards from all other states.
Fact Sheet“Concealed Carry Reciprocity” Forces States to Let Domestic Abusers Carry Concealed Handguns
While “concealed carry reciprocity” would effectively repeal existing state protections against abusive dating partners, legislation from Sen. Klobuchar and Reps. Donovan and Dingell would protect…
Fact SheetState Firearm Preemption Laws
State firearm preemption laws are a relatively recent phenomenon inconsistent with centuries of American history in which cities and rural areas had different gun laws.
Fact SheetThe Truth About “Concealed Carry Reciprocity”
Concealed carry reciprocity would override states’ carefully crafted laws on who may carry concealed handguns within their borders.
Fact SheetConcealed Carry Permits are Nothing Like Driver’s Licenses
Myth Concealed carry permits should be treated just like driver’s licenses. Just like a person licensed to drive in any state, a person allowed to…
Fact SheetGuns in Bars
Guns and alcohol don’t mix. There is strong evidence that people under the influence of alcohol are at an elevated risk of violent behavior.
Fact Sheet