{"id":9362,"date":"2026-08-18T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/?p=9362"},"modified":"2026-08-16T19:31:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T23:31:27","slug":"know-the-gun-laws-of-the-state-youre-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/know-the-gun-laws-of-the-state-youre-in\/","title":{"rendered":"KNOW THE GUN LAWS OF THE STATE YOU\u2019RE IN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I make my living teaching self-defense. Self-defense laws \u2013 when can you use force? \u2013 are pretty homogeneous nationwide. Gun laws are something else entirely \u2013what can you have and where can you have it? \u2013 and no two states are exactly alike in that respect. The fifteen-round magazine in the Glock 19 I happen to carry as I write this, and the spare fifteen-round mag on the opposite hip, are legal in the state where I\u2019m writing this but would be two separate felony counts on me if I had them in New York State.
Know the gun laws where you are, or where you\u2019re going. My wife and I consult the excellent website handgunlaw.us whenever we cross a state line.
I wish every state had its own book on the gun laws there. A classic example is \u201cFlorida Firearms Law, Use & Ownership\u201d by attorney Jon Gutmacher, now in its umpteenth edition (2026-2027) to keep up with recent changes in law and caselaw.
Florida is one of the most gun-friendly states, but there are still details which gun owners and especially pistol-packers need to know. The \u201cantis\u201d don\u2019t call Florida the \u201cGunshine State\u201d for nothing. But did you know that if you commit a crime with a gun whose magazine holds twenty or more rounds, there\u2019s a mandatory enhanced penalty over what you\u2019d get for committing the same crime with a six-shooter? Details, details\u2026.
Attorney Gutmacher has more than done his homework: he\u2019s done the trials. Like me, he has learned that \u201csay nothing to the police after a self-defense shooting\u201d is sub-optimal. He recommends explaining the active dynamic which led to the shooting, something like \u201cThis man attacked me with a deadly weapon\u201d or whatever it was. He recommends pointing out evidence before it gets overlooked, such as injuries you\u2019ve suffered at the hands of the attacker, your clothing that he tore, et cetera. This strategy helps to establish your claim of self-defense from the first responding officer onward.
If you live in Florida or ever visit there, you would be wise to order \u201cFlorida Firearms Law, Use, and Ownership\u201d by Jon Gutmacher<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I make my living teaching self-defense. Self-defense laws \u2013 when can you use force? \u2013 are pretty homogeneous nationwide. Gun laws are something else entirely \u2013what can you have and where can you have it? \u2013 and no two states are exactly alike in that respect. The fifteen-round magazine in the Glock 19 I happen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9363,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9362\/revisions\/9363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}