The Second Amendment protects the First. And the rest. Liberty in general. Any state that respects its residents’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms tends to establish and engender a broad spectrum of personal freedoms and business-friendly policies.
Click here for the Cato Institute’s weighting system for various categories that result in their chart. Note: firearms laws account for only 3.2 percent of the total ranking. Breakdown below. Meanwhile, here’s proof, if proof were needed, that the most gun control-heavy states are the least free. And that people are acting accordingly.
Here’s how Cato broke down the gun bit. What did they miss?
Gun control: 3.2%
Local gun ban: 1.0%
Concealed-carry index: 0.4%
Initial permit cost: 0.4%
Firearms licensing index: 0.3%
Waiting period for purchases: 0.3%
Initial permit term: 0.2%
Stricter minimum age: 0.2%
Assault weapons ban: 0.1%
Open carry index: 0.05%
No duty to retreat: 0.05%
Any other weapon: 0.04%
Dealer licensing: 0.03%
Built-in locking devices: 0.03%
Nonpowder guns: 0.03%
Restrictions on multiple purchases: 0.03%
Background checks for private sales: 0.02%
Registration of firearms: 0.02%
Design safety standards: 0.01%
Machine guns: 0.01%
Ammo microstamping: 0.01%
Large-capacity magazine bans: 0.01%
Sound suppressor: <0.01%
Short-barreled shotguns: <0.01%
Short-barreled rifles: <0.01%
.50 caliber ban: <0.01%
So now you know.