Are gun background checks overly invasive, or do they simply do a thorough job investigating the person who will be buying a potentially deadly weapon? Your answer may depend on which side of the aisle you fall on — but for states like North Carolina, background checks for weapons can comprise some seriously personal information that seems unlikely to relate to your gun acquisition. Reporting from WCNC Charlotte found that concealed carry permit background checks sometimes required health providers to hand over sensitive information, including whether someone has been treated for a sexually transmitted infection or whether they’ve had an abortion. In response, Representative Keith Kidwell has introduced House Bill 427, which would limit the amount of medical history transmitted to the sheriff’s office. Instead, healthcare providers would only have to check “yes” or “no” as to whether someone is mentally competent enough to buy a gun. (Everything you know about guns and firearm legality is wrong.)

State-level gun legislation has been changing across the country, so keeping up on the specifics of what’s going on can be challenging. For the most part, states who are rolling back gun legislation are typically looking to reduce what they believe are unnecessary hangups in the purchasing process or rules that infringe on gun owners’ rights. But what seems common sense to many people — universal background checks — isn’t always adopted by states, and has been rolled back in some areas. Here, 24/7 Wall St. decided to investigate which states have universal background check regulations and which do not. To do so, we looked up data from the Giffords Law Center’s Annual Gun Law Scorecard, which evaluates all 50 states based on a variety of factors including gun laws, gun deaths, and other measures. While we wanted to focus specifically on universal background checks, we also included supplemental information on each state’s gun law grade. We also used Giffords’ comprehensive “Universal Background Checks” summary to supplement our awareness and understanding. For the purpose of this article, we excluded Washington, D.C.

This previously published article was updated on May 7, 2025 to discuss new legislation and discourse relating to universal background checks for guns. 

Why It Matters Now

The United States has some of the most permissive gun control laws in the world. And while federal law restricts certain convicted criminals from owning a gun, legal loopholes make it relatively easy for prohibited persons to buy a gun from private sellers. While many states have taken measures to close this loophole, most have not. More stringent universal background checks can be helpful in legitimizing sales, keeping firearms away from prohibited individuals, and reducing gun violence and deaths. People looking to support their local economies should also consider the importance of background checks. Areas without gun background checks may see higher rates of gun violence and death, which can have negative effects on businesses in the area or people who are looking to buy homes. Research from the Urban Institute even suggests that gun violence reduces home value appreciation by ~4% and is correlated with lower homeownership rates. It’s clearer than ever before that standardizing gun purchasing procedures and addressing gun violence is imperative for both American safety and economic success.

Check out the states without universal background check regulations for firearms:

Alabama (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Alaska (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealer

Arizona (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealer

Arkansas (Gun Law Grade: F) 

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealer

California (Gun Law Grade: A)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Colorado (Gun Law Grade: A-)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Connecticut (Gun Law Grade: A)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Permit and background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Delaware (Gun Law Grade: A-) 

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Florida (Gun Law Grade: C-)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Georgia (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Hawaii (Gun Law Grade: A-)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Universal background check through permit requirement

Idaho (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Illinois (Gun Law Grade: A-) 

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Universal background check through permit requirement

Indiana (Gun Law Grade: D-)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Iowa (Gun Law Grade: F) 

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Kansas (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Kentucky (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Louisiana (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Maine (Gun Law Grade: C+) 

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Maryland (Gun Law Grade: A-)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers, and permit required for all handgun sales

Massachusetts (Gun Law Grade: A)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Permit and background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Michigan (Gun Law Grade: B-) 

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Universal background check through permit requirement

Minnesota (Gun Law Grade: B)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Universal background check through permit requirements for handguns and assault weapons

Mississippi (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Missouri (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Montana (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Nebraska (Gun Law Grade: C-)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Universal background check through permit requirements for handguns

Nevada (Gun Law Grade: B-)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

New Hampshire (Gun Law Grade: D-)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

New Jersey (Gun Law Grade: A)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Permit and background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

New Mexico (Gun Law Grade: B-)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

New York (Gun Law Grade: A)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers, and permit required for all handgun sales

North Carolina (Gun Law Grade: C-)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

North Dakota (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Ohio (Gun Law Grade: D-) 

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Oklahoma (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Oregon (Gun Law Grade: A-) 

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Permit and background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Pennsylvania (Gun Law Grade: B)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers for handguns

Rhode Island (Gun Law Grade: A-) 

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer of a handgun from both licensed and private sellers, and permit required for all handgun sales

South Carolina (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

South Dakota (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Tennessee (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Texas (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Utah (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Vermont (Gun Law Grade: B-) 

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Virginia (Gun Law Grade: B+)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

Washington (Gun Law Grade: A-)

• Universal background check laws?: Yes
• Background check regulations: Background check required at point of transfer from both licensed and private sellers

West Virginia (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Wisconsin (Gun Law Grade: C)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

Wyoming (Gun Law Grade: F)

• Universal background check laws?: No
• Background check regulations: Background checks only required for sales from federally licensed dealers

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