The

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

has very permissive gun laws, and very few regulations regarding the sale, possession, and use of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s and

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

compared to those in most of the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

. Alaska was the first state to adopt carry laws modeled after those of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, where no license is required to carry a handgun either openly or concealed. However, permits are still issued to residents, allowing reciprocity with other statesHandgunlaw.us – Alaska
/ref> and exemption from the Federal Gun Free School Zone Act.Title 18 USC Sec. 922. Unlawful Acts
/ref> The legal stipulation that gun permits are issued but not required is referred to by

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

advocates as an ''"Alaska carry,"'' as opposed to a ''"Vermont carry"'' (or ''"Constitutional carry"''), where gun licenses are neither issued nor required. Some city ordinances do not permit concealed carry without a license, but these have been invalidated by the recent state preemption statute. Title AS 29.35.145. Regulation of Firearms
/ref> Alaska prohibits any type of carry in schools, domestic violence shelters, courts, and correctional institutions. Carrying is also prohibited in any place where alcohol is served for on-site consumption, with an exception for restaurants that serve alcohol, as long as one is not consuming alcohol while carrying. When encountering a police officer, a person carrying a concealed weapon is required by law to inform the officer they are carrying, and to cooperate if the officer chooses to temporarily seize the gun for the length of the encounter. The possession of any firearm while intoxicated is illegal.A.S. §§ 9.65.155; 11.61.195; 11.61.200; 11.61.210; 11.61.220; 18.65.700; 18.65.705; 18.65.710; 18.65.715; 18.65.720; 18.65.725; 18.65.730; 18.65.740; 18.65.748; 18.65.755; 18.65.775; 18.65.778; 18.65.790 On July 9, 2010, Governor

Sean Parnell Sean Randall Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is an American attorney and politician. He succeeded Sarah Palin in July 2009 to become the tenth governor of Alaska and served until 2014.Alaska Firearms Freedom Act (HB 186), declaring that certain firearms and accessories are exempt from federal regulation and made it unlawful for any state assets to go toward the enforcement of federal gun laws, an act of de facto

nullification Nullification may refer to: * Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution * Nullification Crisis, the 1832 confront ...

. The text can be read here. On September 10, 2013, Governor Parnell signed HB 69, which amended and expanded HB 186. The text can be read here.

Summary table

References

{{Gun laws in the United States (by state) Alaska law