Skip to content

Which states prohibit people with hate crime convictions from having firearms?

25 states have adopted this policy

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Alabama has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Alaska has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Arizona has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Arkansas has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

California has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Colorado has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Connecticut has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Delaware has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Florida has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Georgia has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Hawaii has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Idaho has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Illinois has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Indiana has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Iowa has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Kansas has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Kentucky has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Louisiana has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Maine has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Maryland has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Massachusetts has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Michigan has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Minnesota has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Mississippi has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Missouri has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Montana has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Nebraska has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Nevada has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

New Hampshire has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

New Jersey has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

New Mexico has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

New York has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

North Carolina has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

North Dakota has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Ohio has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Oklahoma has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Oregon has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Pennsylvania has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Rhode Island has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

South Carolina has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

South Dakota has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Tennessee has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Texas has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Utah has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Vermont has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Virginia has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Washington has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

West Virginia has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Wisconsin has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Wyoming has not adopted this policy

What It Does

Federal law bars nearly all people with felony convictions from having guns, but many hate crimes are misdemeanors—meaning that, under federal law, many people who commit violent acts and are convicted of hate crimes may still be legally armed. Half of the states have acted to prohibit these individuals, either by making their convictions into felonies or by extending their gun laws to reach hate crimes. A full discussion on who should be prohibited is here. 

The Impact

 In an average year, more than 25,000 hate crimes in the US involve a firearm—69 a day.

Show Citations and Footnotes
Source: Cal. Penal Code § 29805; Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-33.5-424(3); Conn. Gen. Stat.. §§ 53a-217(a)(1), 53a-217c(a)(1); Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, § 1448 (a)(1), (d); Fla. Stat. § 775.085; Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 134-1, 134-7(b); Idaho Code §§ 18-7902, 18-7903; 30 Ill. Comp. Stat. §§ 65/4(a)(2)(viii), 65/8(k); Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety §§ 5-133(b)(1), 5-205(b)(1), 5-101(g)(3); Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, §§ 121F, 129B, 131; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 39(a); Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.147b; Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. (1)(11); Mo. Rev. Stat. § 557.035; Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-221; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-111; N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 651:6; N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:39-7; N.Y. Penal Law §§ 400.00, 265.01(4), 265.00(17)(b); 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6105(b); S.D. Codified Laws § 22-19B-1; Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-309; Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57; Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.36.080; W. Va. Code § 61-6-21(b), (c), (d); Wis. Stat. § 939.645(1), (2). 

25,000/69: Everytown analysis of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). A yearly average was developed using 12 years of the most recently available data: 2010 to 2021. During this period, there were 6,668,159 hate crimes, 276,308 of which involved a firearm.

More from Keeping guns out of the wrong hands