The United States has nearly 121 guns per 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based research project. That figure may be higher today since it was reported in the organization’s report published in 2018 and was already an increase from 88 guns per 100 people in 2011. (These are states with the most gun purchases per person.)
With so many firearms legally or illegally moving around the country, law enforcement agencies often seek to identify the origin and history of firearms they discover at crime scenes. This job falls to the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The ATF traced the origin of 16,409 firearms in Georgia in 2020, and of those, 19.5%, or 3,193 guns, originated from out of state, the 12th smallest share among states.
Of the 3,193 firearms traced in Georgia in 2020 that came from a different state, the largest share – 497 – were originally sold in Alabama.
It is important to note that not all firearms are traced. Tracing occurs when the ATF or any other U.S. law enforcement agency discovers a firearm at a crime scene and wants to learn where it came from. A trace uses the gun’s serial number to identify the wholesale and retail history of the gun back to its original manufacturer or importer. Firearms with illegally removed serial numbers can be traced using forensic expertise and technology, according to the ATF.
| Rank | State | Share of traced firearms from out of state; 2020 (%) | Traced firearms from out of state; 2020 | Total firearms recovered and traced; 2020 | Top supplier state; 2020 | Firearms from top supplier state; 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | 88.5 | 3,738 | 4,225 | Pennsylvania | 431 |
| 2 | New York | 87.5 | 6,344 | 7,254 | Georgia | 632 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 78.8 | 1,043 | 1,324 | New Hampshire | 172 |
| 4 | Connecticut | 58.3 | 458 | 786 | Georgia | 72 |
| 5 | Maryland | 55.2 | 3,509 | 6,357 | Virginia | 1,070 |
| 6 | Hawaii | 54.3 | 38 | 70 | California | 6 |
| 7 | Wyoming | 50.5 | 100 | 198 | Colorado | 14 |
| 8 | Illinois | 50.2 | 5,881 | 11,708 | Indiana | 1,954 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | 46.0 | 150 | 326 | Massachusetts | 17 |
| 10 | California | 44.9 | 12,352 | 27,536 | Arizona | 3,352 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 34.8 | 603 | 1,735 | Iowa | 154 |
| 12 | Idaho | 34.2 | 336 | 983 | Washington | 51 |
| 13 | North Dakota | 33.4 | 219 | 656 | Minnesota | 41 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 32.9 | 2,910 | 8,850 | Massachusetts | 270 |
| 15 | Delaware | 31.4 | 375 | 1,195 | Pennsylvania | 111 |
| 16 | South Dakota | 31.2 | 178 | 570 | North Dakota | 17 |
| 17 | Nevada | 29.5 | 1,494 | 5,060 | California | 315 |
| 18 | Colorado | 29.4 | 1,528 | 5,197 | Texas | 238 |
| 19 | Minnesota | 29.3 | 950 | 3,247 | Wisconsin | 178 |
| 20 | Iowa | 28.2 | 582 | 2,062 | Illinois | 71 |
| 21 | Tennessee | 28.0 | 2,923 | 10,427 | Mississippi | 784 |
| 22 | Kansas | 27.8 | 837 | 3,006 | Missouri | 351 |
| 23 | Vermont | 27.2 | 62 | 228 | New Hampshire | 26 |
| 24 | Washington | 26.2 | 1,067 | 4,071 | Oregon | 224 |
| 25 | Montana | 24.6 | 234 | 953 | Washington | 24 |
| 26 | North Carolina | 24.3 | 3,726 | 15,352 | South Carolina | 927 |
| 27 | Oregon | 23.8 | 952 | 4,001 | Washington | 224 |
| 28 | West Virginia | 23.6 | 393 | 1,668 | Ohio | 95 |
| 29 | Arkansas | 21.8 | 608 | 2,788 | Texas | 122 |
| 30 | Kentucky | 21.8 | 1,017 | 4,673 | Indiana | 240 |
| 31 | South Carolina | 21.2 | 1,690 | 7,969 | North Carolina | 290 |
| 32 | Utah | 20.9 | 468 | 2,236 | Nevada | 47 |
| 33 | New Hampshire | 20.9 | 108 | 517 | Maine | 26 |
| 34 | New Mexico | 20.1 | 577 | 2,869 | Texas | 173 |
| 35 | Florida | 20.0 | 4,515 | 22,530 | Georgia | 818 |
| 36 | Missouri | 19.9 | 1,575 | 7,918 | Kansas | 512 |
| 37 | Mississippi | 19.7 | 760 | 3,856 | Louisiana | 133 |
| 38 | Oklahoma | 19.7 | 567 | 2,877 | Texas | 153 |
| 39 | Georgia | 19.5 | 3,193 | 16,409 | Alabama | 497 |
| 40 | Michigan | 19.1 | 1,818 | 9,504 | Ohio | 292 |
| 41 | Louisiana | 18.6 | 1,715 | 9,201 | Texas | 525 |
| 42 | Alabama | 17.6 | 1,155 | 6,574 | Georgia | 256 |
| 43 | Maine | 17.3 | 81 | 469 | New Hampshire | 19 |
| 44 | Ohio | 16.2 | 2,277 | 14,072 | Kentucky | 501 |
| 45 | Indiana | 15.8 | 1,136 | 7,174 | Kentucky | 203 |
| 46 | Arizona | 15.8 | 1,423 | 8,994 | California | 171 |
| 47 | Wisconsin | 15.6 | 773 | 4,963 | Illinois | 98 |
| 48 | Virginia | 15.3 | 1,517 | 9,910 | North Carolina | 259 |
| 49 | Texas | 14.1 | 4,473 | 31,827 | Louisiana | 747 |
| 50 | Alaska | 13.1 | 84 | 643 | Florida | 9 |
by Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square
