Policies prohibiting gun possession by certain people U.S. 2024, by state

In the United States, gun laws differ from state to state. While all citizens have the 'right to bear arms' ingrained in their Constitution, Americans who have a criminal record or suffer from mental illness may be restricted from gun ownership depending on the state they are living in. As of 2024, 38 states had prohibited people with felony convictions from having a gun, while 32 states barred firearm access by convicted domestic abusers. However, only 12 states had restricted gun possession by domestic abusers under temporary restraining orders, despite commonly cited concerns that victims may face the most danger directly after leaving their abuser. In comparison, owning a firearm was outlawed by 29 states for certain people with serious mental illness, defined as those who were involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital or found to be a danger to themselves or others. Although federal law already restricts such mentally ill individuals, as well as most convicted domestic abusers, from obtaining firearms, having statewide legislation is still considered crucial to ensure that the policy is properly enforced.

在美国，各州的枪支法律各不相同。尽管所有公民在其宪法中均享有‘携带武器的权利’，但拥有犯罪记录或患有精神疾病的美国人，其枪支拥有权可能会因居住州的不同而受到限制。截至2024年，38个州禁止犯有重罪的人拥有枪支，而32个州禁止犯有家庭暴力罪的罪犯获得枪支。然而，仅有12个州在临时限制令下限制了家庭暴力罪犯的枪支持有。尽管在离开施暴者后，受害者可能面临的最大危险常常被提及，但这一限制仍然存在。相比之下，29个州禁止患有严重精神疾病的人拥有枪支，这些精神疾病被定义为那些被强制送入精神病医院或被认定为对自己或他人构成危险的人。尽管联邦法律已限制此类精神疾病患者以及大多数家庭暴力罪犯获得枪支，但全州范围内的立法仍被视为确保政策得到有效执行的关键。