After a 'historic' year, here are the states with the strongest and weakest gun laws in 2024

Several new laws increasing restrictions around guns go into effect in 2024 and a report released Friday sheds light on how each state stacks up.

Everytown for Gun Safety analyzed the strength and impact of 50 policies related to gun control as well as gun death rates and ranked all 50 states in its annual report.

The gun violence prevention advocacy group determined California has the strongest gun laws in the country, followed by New York, Illinois, Connecticut, and Hawaii. Mississippi, Idaho, Montana and Georgia were among the states with the weakest gun laws. Arkansas, which is ranked last, Florida, Nebraska and North Carolina were among the states that dropped in the rankings after passing legislation that loosened restrictions on guns.

According to the report, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Jersey and New York have the lowest gun death rates in the country, while Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, Alabama and Montana have the highest.

"When we look at the rates of gun violence in these states, what we see is a strong correlation between states with gun laws and lower rates of gun violence and the opposite for the states with the weak law," said Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety.

The report comes after new gun control measures went into effect Jan. 1 in states including California, Illinois, Colorado, Washington and Minnesota. New laws in other states like Michigan and Oregon go into effect later this year.

Here's a look at some of the state gun laws in effect or coming in 2024:

California

A new law in California prohibiting people from carrying firearms in more than two dozen public spaces temporarily went into effect Jan. 1 amid an ongoing legal challenge against it.

The law, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge last month who said it violates the Second Amendment and defies the Supreme Court. A federal appeals court put a temporary hold on the previous ruling, allowing the law to go into effect Jan. 1, but the law was blocked once again Saturday.

Colorado

Colorado moved from 12th to 11th on Everytown's list. At the beginning of the year, Colorado joined 11 other states in restricting "ghost guns," firearms that are assembled from kits or 3D-printed. The weapons, also known as "privately made firearms" don't require background checks and don't have serial numbers, which can make it more difficult for law enforcement to track the weapons.

Two gun rights groups filed a federal lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Jared Polis challenging the new law the day it went into effect, The Denver Post reported.

Illinois

In Illinois, which rose from seventh to third on Everytown's list, a new law banning certain high-powered semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines went into effect Jan. 1. The assault weapons ban passed in January 2023, six months after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park left seven dead and dozens wounded.

The U.S. Supreme Court in December declined to block the law.

Michigan

In Michigan, a series of gun safety bills signed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after a mass shooting at Michigan State University will go into effect in 2024. The bills include an expansion of background checks, requirements to store guns away from children and a new red flag law. Whitmer also signed legislation in November to temporarily ban people convicted of domestic violence from possessing and purchasing firearms and ammunition. The state moved from 24th to 20th on Everytown's list.

Minnesota

Minnesota moved up from 17th to 14th in Everytown's ranking after becoming the 20th state to implement a "red flag" law, which allows courts to temporarily take guns from those determined to be an imminent threat to themselves or others.

Oregon

A ban on ghost guns will take effect in Oregon in September, according to Everytown. The state dropped slightly to 10th in the organization's ranking as its neighbor Washington moved up to ninth.

Washington

People purchasing a firearm in Washington must now complete a background check, wait 10 business days and take a safety training program within five years of the purchase.

West Virginia

In West Virginia, ranked 27th by Everytown, a law allowing people with concealed carry permits to bring firearms to public college and university campuses will go into effect in July, according to the group.

More gun laws could come in 2024

A record-breaking 137 gun safety policies were passed in state legislatures in 2023, according to Everytown. Suplina called the recent legislation on assault weapons "historic" and said he expects to see similar bills this year in Virginia, New Mexico and Maine, where 18 people were killed in a mass shooting on Oct. 25.

"What we're seeing now year over year is success in beating back bad laws and passing good laws," he said. "So I am quite optimistic that in 2024 we will continue the momentum from last year and continue to pass laws that save lives."

Gun violence decreased, fatal mass shootings increased in 2023

The number of total gun deaths and injuries dropped in 2023 to 36,335 injured and 42,946 dead, including suicides, homicides and unintentional shootings, according to the most recent data from the Gun Violence Archive.

But in 2023, there were 39 mass shootings in which four or more people were killed, not including the perpetrator, which surpasses the previous year's record of 36, according to the USA TODAY/Northeastern University/Associated Press Mass Killings Database. 

Mark Bryant, executive director of the Gun Violence Archive, said the recent decline in total deaths and injuries is "fairly significant," but it's unclear what is causing some forms of gun violence to increase.

"This is a mixed bag year," he said. "I think we're starting to drift back toward pre-COVID numbers."

Do gun control laws save lives?

According to a projection from Everytown, if every state had the gun death rates seen in the eight states with the strongest gun safety laws, nearly 300,000 lives could be saved over the next decade.

Sean Holihan, state legislative director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence called 2023 a "historic" year for the gun safety movement and agreed that while the success of implementation can vary state-by-state, these laws have "proven that they can be effective."

"There's a noticeable difference in the gun death rate in states that pass these types of laws versus states that haven't," said Holihan.

However, Billy McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the National Rifle Association, told USA TODAY restrictions on guns penalize lawful gunowners and fail to deter criminals and called Everytown's list "propaganda."

"A cursory glance at Everytown's 'methodology' reveals a bias: The highest ratings go to states with the most restrictive gun laws. This isn't science; it's an assault on the rights of law-abiding citizens, masquerading as research," McLaughlin said.

Bryant said ultimately, more data is needed to determine what drove the country's recent decrease in gun violence.

"It's just too early to say," he said.

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, Grace Hauck, John Fritze, USA TODAY; Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press; Laurel Demkovich, Washington State Standard; The Associated Press