The Giffords Law Center released its annual State Gun Law Scorecard, which grades states on their “gun safety” policies. Where your state lands on its list is highly indicative of whether or not your state government holds dear the foundational American principle of the right to keep and bear arms.
The scorecard rewards states for piling on restrictions like mandatory safe storage requirements, so-called assault weapon bans, and universal background checks that treat every law-abiding gun owner like a criminal-in-waiting. The so-called experts at Giffords Law Center analyze every state’s gun laws and compare them to the latest CDC gun death data in order to prove their hypothesis that states with stronger gun laws have lower gun death rates. But not every gun death is a homicide. Most gun deaths in America are tragic suicides.
NEW: Our 2025 Gun Law Scorecard is LIVE!
Our experts analyzed and graded all 50 states on the strength of their gun laws, and like always, the data is clear: Gun laws save lives.https://t.co/zQ03KjruBQ
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) December 8, 2025
Unsurprisingly, California was ranked at the top, with an “A” score, due to its labyrinth of regulations that has turned a once-free state into a nanny-state nightmare. Low-scoring states like Wyoming or Mississippi, by contrast, refuse to genuflect to gun-control lobbies and therefore were given an “F.” But this isn’t the test you want to pass. An “F” isn’t a mark of shame. It signals that your state prioritizes individual freedoms over bureaucratic overreach. The scorecard is little more than a liberal wish list dressed up as data. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
It doesn’t take an expert to see that there is a disconnect with the scorecard’s methodology of assigning points for gun control laws that supposedly reduce gun violence. It ignores the reality that criminals don’t follow laws.
Cities like New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles are all located in states that the Giffords Law Center gives an “A” ranking on its scorecard. And yet these cities consistently rank high on the list for gun-related homicides. Violent crime persists in these urban strongholds despite the red tape. Meanwhile, armed rural communities are safe and peaceful despite being in states that received a failing grade. (ROOKE: Teacher Accidentally Makes Best Case For Why Public Schools Are Failing Students)
If your state aced the Giffords Scorecard, that means your elected officials surrendered to the radical left fearmongering. The only effective way to end gun violence is to have real accountability for violent crime. This works better than the regulatory model ever has.
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