<P> Forty four of the fifty US states have the right to keep and bear arms written into their state constitutions . The text of these constitutional provisions vary . For example, Hawaii's constitution simply copies the text of the Second Amendment verbatim, while North Carolina and South Carolina begin with the same but continue with an injunction against maintaining standing armies . Alaska also begins with the full text of the Second Amendment, but adds that the right "shall not be denied or infringed by the State or a political subdivision of the State". Rhode Island subtracts the first half of the Second Amendment, leaving only, "(t) he right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". </P> <P> The majority of the remaining states' constitutions differ from the text of the U.S. Constitution primarily in their clarification of exactly to whom the right belongs or by the inclusion of additional, specific protections or restrictions . Seventeen states refer to the right to keep and bear arms as being an individual right, with Utah and Alaska referring to it explicitly as "(t) he individual right to keep and bear arms", while the other fifteen refer to the right as belonging to "every citizen", "all individuals", "all persons", or another, very similar phrase . In contrast are four states which make no mention whatever of an individual right or of defense of one's self as a valid basis for the right to arms . Arkansas, Massachusetts, and Tennessee all state that the right is "for the common defense", while Virginia's constitution explicitly indicates that the right is derived from the need for a militia to defend the state . </P> <P> Most state constitutions enumerate one or more reasons for the keeping of arms . Twenty - four states include self - defense as a valid, protected use of arms; twenty - eight cite defense of the state as a proper purpose . Ten states extend the right to defense of home and / or property, five include the defense of family, and six add hunting and recreation . Idaho is uniquely specific in its provision that "(n) o law shall impose licensure, registration, or special taxation on the ownership or possession of firearms or ammunition . Nor shall any law permit the confiscation of firearms, except those actually used in the commission of a felony". Fifteen state constitutions include specific restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms . Florida's constitution calls for a three - day waiting period for all modern cartridge handgun purchases, with exceptions for handgun purchases by those holding a CCW license, or for anyone who purchases a black - powder handgun . Illinois prefaces the right by indicating that it is "(s) ubject...to the police power". Florida and the remaining thirteen states with specific restrictions all carry a provision to the effect that the state legislature may enact laws regulating the carrying, concealing, and / or wearing of arms . Forty states preempt some or all local gun laws, due in part to campaigning by the NRA for such legislation . </P>

History of gun control laws in the united states