Gun Laws vs. Crime Rates: 2025 Statistics & Laws

Ammo.com provides reliable data from reputable sources. You can view the sources used in this article here.

Methodology

States in this article are ranked according to whether their gun laws are relaxed, strict, or mixed.

1. Relaxed - States with relaxed gun laws do not require background checks on private sales or waiting periods. They also do not restrict firearms or ammunition.
2. Strict - States with strict gun laws require background checks on private sales, ban certain types of firearms or ammunition, and have further legislated to restrict firearm ownership or possession.
3. Mixed - States with mixed gun laws allow concealed carry, but also require background checks or waiting periods before the purchase of firearms.

Do Strict Gun Laws Reduce Violent Crime?

Gun control laws do not reduce violent crime. Eighteen states and Washington, D.C. have strict gun laws. Seven of those states have violent crime rates above the national average, while 11 have violent crime rates below it. ^{12, 13, 14}

On the contrary, 26 states have relaxed gun laws. Thirteen of those have crime rates below the national average, and 13 above it.

Five of seven states with a mix of relaxed and strict gun laws also have crime rates below the national average. Out of this category, only Nevada and New Mexico have crime rates above the national average.

Do Countries With Strict Gun Laws Have Less Gun Violence?

Some countries that have strict gun laws also have the highest rates of gun violence in the world, while others have the lowest. (Source 11)

• Jamaica, Ecuador, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico, which have strict gun laws and regulations, also have the highest gun violence rates in the world.
• Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, and the U.S. have more relaxed gun laws, and had fewer than five gun-related homicides per 100,000 residents in 2023.
• Australia, Japan, and the U.K. have strict gun laws and low firearm-related homicide rates.

Concealed Carry Crime Stats

Homicide and violent crime rates in the U.S. were highest in the 1970s and 1980s (above 600 per 100k on average) when states widely prohibited concealed carry. As states began permitting concealed carry, crime rates began decreasing and remain below 365 per 100k, nationwide.

• Despite having never regulated concealed carry, Vermont has consistently low homicide and violent crime rates.
• New Hampshire began issuing permits to carry in 1923 and has maintained lower violent crime and incidents of homicides than most states.
• 29 states in the U.S. have permitless concealed carry in 2025.
• 60% of all states with permitless concealed carry before January 2023 have violent crime rates below the national average.

Do Strict Gun Control Laws Reduce the Number of Homicides?

On average, states with strict gun control had 309 homicides in 2024. States with relaxed gun control had an average of 322; those with mixed laws, 341.

There were 16,322 homicides in the U.S. in 2024. Fifty-one percent of all homicides occurred in states with relaxed gun control. Forty-nine percent occurred in states with strict or mixed gun control.

Do Strict Gun Laws Reduce Mass Shootings?

There were 198 mass shootings from January, 1966 to December, 2024. Since 1968, the federal government has: restricted who can purchase firearms; required serial numbers and background checks; banned certain firearms; and implemented five-day waiting periods. ¹⁶

• 195 (98%) mass shootings occurred after the 1968 Gun Control Act restricted firearms transfers to prohibited individuals and required serial numbers on newly manufactured guns.
• 168 (86%) mass shootings occurred after the 1986 Firearm Owners’ Protection Act prohibited the civilian sale of machine guns.
• 166 (84%) mass shootings occurred after the 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act required manufacturers to ensure guns contained enough metal to be detectable by metal detectors.
• 151 (76%) mass shootings occurred after the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (or “Brady Bill”) prohibited firearms sales by dealers without background checks.
• 37 (19%) mass shootings occurred during the 1994 Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act (Assault Weapon Ban).

Do Gun Control Laws Reduce Suicides?

Federal and state gun control have not reduced suicides in the U.S. ¹⁷

• States with strict gun laws had an average of 763 suicides in 2024. Despite having similar population sizes, states with relaxed gun laws had an average of 728.
• Suicide rates in the U.S. averaged 11.8 per 100,000 from 1968 until 2012. Suicide rates began steadily increasing in 2013, reaching 13.9 per 100,000 in 2024.

Gun Laws and Crime in Numbers

There were 16,322 murders in 2024. Of those, 12,490 were committed with a firearm. ¹⁷

Gun Laws vs. Crime Rates

Despite the enactment of many new federal gun control laws, U.S. violent crime rates increased 261% from 1966 to 1993. ^{13, 14}

• Violent crime rates prior to the 1968 Gun Control Act averaged 189 incidents per 100,000 people.
• From 1969 to 1985, violent crime rates increased to an average of 474 per 100,000.
• From 1986 to 1993, violent crime rates increased to an average of 682 per 100,000.
• Violent crime rates remained high between 1993 and 1998 when the Brady Bill’s five-day waiting period was in effect.
• Violent crime rates declined after 1999, with an average of 420 incidents per 100,000 through 2024.

Gun Laws vs. Gun Violence by State

States with the most relaxed gun laws have more “gun violence” (including homicide, suicide, legal intervention, unintentional shootings, and undetermined shootings) per capita. ^{4, 8, 12, 13, 14}

This information only includes firearm-related homicides:

• Relaxed states have a firearm-related death rate of 13.9 per 100,000 (2023).
• Strict states have a firearm-related death rate of 7.4 per 100,000.
• Mixed states (those with background checks, waiting periods, gun bans, and permitless carry) have a firearm-related death rate of 11.6 per 100,000.

Gun Deaths vs. Gun Laws by State

Mass shootings occur more frequently in states with strict gun control. Gun suicides occur more frequently in states with relaxed gun control. ^{1, 2, 3, 16}

• 60% of the ten states with the fewest firearm-related murders have relaxed gun laws.
• 40% of the top ten states with the most firearm-related homicides have relaxed gun laws.
• States with relaxed gun laws have had 75 mass shootings between 1966 and 2025.*
• States with strict gun laws have had 92 mass shootings since 1966 and 2025.*
• States with mixed gun laws have had 29 mass shootings since 1966 and 2025.*

*As of [YEAR WHEN DATA WERE TAKEN]

Would Stricter Gun Laws Help?

Decades of U.S. and international data show no consistent case for gun control lowering crime rates. Homicides, suicides, mass shootings, and violent crime statistics vary despite gun laws.

Sources

1. The 1994 FAWB
2. 1986 FOPA
3. Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993/1994)
4. Violent Crime Data
5. BJS Report Crime Guns
6. Homicide Rates El Salvador
7. Mass Shootings in the U.S.
8. Violent Crime Rates in the U.S.
9. Violent Crimes in the U.K.
10. Australia Crime Stats
11. Murder Rate by Country
12. Crime Rate by State: 2025
13. FBI Crime Data Explorer
14. U.S. Crime Data 1960-2019
15. Gun Deaths by Country: 2025
16. Mass Shooters Database
17. CDC WONDER Provisional Data