New gun laws rolling out in multiple US states on Jan 1
New York: US states have taken steps to pass their own gun regulations to effect on January 1, as related violence kept on ravaging the nation with nearly 500 mass shootings occurring in 2024, media reported.
In September 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a series of laws aimed at strengthening gun safety regulations. Those include requiring schools to implement safety programs and plans and establishing an Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which has deadlines in the coming years. Some of those laws go into effect on January 1, Xinhua news agency reported.
As of January 1, any handgun stored inside an unoccupied vehicle in Colorado must be in a locked, hard-sided container that is out of plain view, and the vehicle also must be locked, with some exceptions. Later in 2025, Coloradans who want to apply for a concealed carry permit will be required to complete an eight-hour training class, which includes a written exam and a live-fire exercise.
The only gun-related bills signed into law in 2024 in New Hampshire expanded gun rights. Going into effect on January 1. HB 1186 strengthens privacy protections around gun laws by prohibiting the use of specific merchant category codes, and HB 1336 bars employers from forbidding employees from storing guns in locked vehicles.
Kentucky is one of 10 states that passed an MCC ban in 2024, according to the National Rifle Association (NRA), and at least five other states have previously passed those laws while a handful of other states, including California, have passed legislation requiring it. The NRA touted that several states have passed laws to prohibit assigning a code for gun retailers, known as a “merchant category code (MCC)”.
Minnesota passed a binary trigger ban, which goes into effect on January 1. A binary trigger allows a gun to be fired once when the trigger is pulled, and then again when the trigger is released.
Starting January 1, Delaware will extend its Safe School Zone to include university campuses, making it a felony to carry a firearm on these premises.