A Look at State Gun Laws Across the Country, California Most Tough Regulations

December 17, 2012 Updated Dec 17, 2012 at 6:26 PM PST

The latest tragedy in Connecticut has once again sparked the debate over gun control.

Gun laws differ in each state. Some have tight rules, while others don't have many regulations.

California has some of the toughest laws in the country. Gun control advocates say they would like every state to get on that same page, but some say the rules are too strict.

It's an issue that's created heated debate for decades, and gun control is now front and center once again. Advocates for tighter laws say now is the time to act.

Robyn Thomas, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence says, "It's just amazing that people don't realize that having weak gun laws just makes your life a heck of a lot more dangerous. It doesn't make you any safer."

Fresno gun store owner Barry Bauer says, "The trigger doesn't pull itself. Somebody has to pull the trigger."

Statewide gun laws across the country vary. Some states have strong regulations in place, while others are very lenient.

In Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming, people are allowed to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. That law is even more lax in Vermont, where a person as young as 16 can legally buy and carry a handgun.

Thomas says, "The idea that you want to have 16-year-olds legally able to buy a gun and carry it loaded is just crazy to me. It's not even a legal argument, it's a sanity argument."

"I think that's fine, what difference does it make? Everybody in the United States has the right to have a firearm, the second amendment says so," says Bauer.

35 states also allow the open carry of handguns without a permit. In 20 states, there is no minimum age to buy a shotgun from an unlicensed dealer.

"Things are going along fine in those states. Every gun that we can't sell in California is being sold in virtually every other state in the union," says Bauer.

Barry Bauer runs a gun store in Fresno; in a state with some of the country's most aggressive gun laws.

"They're probably too much. We're over-regulated."

California began stepping up it's regulations about 20 years ago. Some of those include background checks on all gun purchases and a ban on assault weapons. Advocates say gun deaths have dropped about 40% because of these laws. They want to see others follow suit.

"We need help. We need some basic measures at the federal level and we need other states to step up," says Thomas.

Source: http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Weapon-Laws---AGR-183864691.html

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