The U.S. cities with the strictest gun laws are New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Jose, Honolulu, and the New Jersey urban corridor including Jersey City and Newark. Each of these places layers licensing rules, weapon or magazine bans, ammunition restrictions, storage mandates, carry limits, or local taxes on top of state law. What is perfectly legal a few blocks outside city limits can be a criminal offense inside them.
Why City Rules Can Go Beyond State Law
Most cities cannot write their own firearm rules because roughly 45 states have preemption statutes that reserve gun regulation for the state legislature. The cities on this list exist in the gaps. Some sit in states where preemption is partial or grandfathers older ordinances. Washington, D.C., as a federal district, is not subject to any state preemption law. Colorado repealed its firearm preemption provisions in 2021. The practical result is a patchwork where your legal obligations depend on the block you are standing on.
Licensing and Registration in New York City and Washington, D.C.
New York City requires a premises license from the NYPD License Division before you can legally keep a handgun at home or at a business. The application fee is $340, with an additional $88.25 for fingerprinting. Applicants supply notarized character references and undergo a background investigation covering criminal history and mental health records. The license expires every three years and requires a full renewal at the same $340 fee.1NYPD. New Application Instructions
A pistol permit issued elsewhere in New York is not valid inside the five boroughs, and city license holders do not recertify through the New York State Police the way permit holders in most other counties do.2Gun Safety NY. Pistol Permit Recertification New York City functions as its own licensing jurisdiction, walled off from the state system around it.
Washington, D.C., uses registration rather than licensing. Every firearm in the District must be registered with the Metropolitan Police Department, and no one may possess or control a firearm without a valid registration certificate.3D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 7-2502.01 – Registration Requirements Applicants are fingerprinted and photographed for a background check and must complete a firearms safety training course before approval. A first conviction for violating the registration requirement carries a fine, up to one year in jail, or both; a second conviction for possessing an unregistered firearm carries up to five years.4D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 7-2507.06 – Penalties Certificates expire after three years and must be renewed to stay valid.5D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 7-2502.07a – Expiration and Renewal of Registration Certificate Training courses typically run $25 to $350 depending on the provider.
Banned Weapons and Magazines in Chicago and Boston
Chicago’s municipal code bans assault weapons using a broad, feature-based definition. A semiautomatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine qualifies if it has any one of several characteristics: a folding or telescoping stock, a protruding pistol grip, a flash suppressor, a threaded barrel, a barrel shroud, or a grenade launcher mount. Semiautomatic shotguns with similar features are covered as well.6City of Chicago. Municipal Code of Chicago 8-20-010 – Definitions It is a single-feature test, so one qualifying characteristic triggers the ban. A rifle legal under Illinois law can still be prohibited inside Chicago because of a folding stock. Residents who lawfully owned a now-banned firearm before the ordinance took effect were given 60 days to move, surrender, or dispose of it. Possession after that carries seizure and criminal penalties.
Boston bans specific models by name under Chapter 596 of Massachusetts law, the Boston Assault Weapons Act of 1989. Prohibited firearms include semiautomatic versions of the AK-47, Uzi, AR-15, FN-FAL, and SKS, along with any semiautomatic rifle with a fixed magazine holding more than ten rounds and any shotgun with a magazine exceeding six rounds. The Act also bans large-capacity magazines, defined as any container holding more than ten rounds that feeds continuously into a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun. Selling, possessing, purchasing, or transferring any of these items within Boston is unlawful.7City of Boston. Chapter 596 – An Act Relative to Assault Weapons in the City of Boston
Ammunition and Storage Rules in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle
San Francisco’s Police Code Section 618 bans possession and sale of ammunition sold under the Winchester Black Talon brand name (or ballistically identical rounds) and ammunition designated by its manufacturer for law enforcement or military use only.8American Legal Publishing. San Francisco Police Code SEC 618 – Prohibited Ammunition A separate provision restricts hollow-point bullets. Exceptions apply for law enforcement, military, and licensed dealers selling to authorized agencies, but ordinary residents cannot legally possess these ammunition types inside the city.
Los Angeles tracks who buys ammunition rather than banning types. Under Section 55.11 of the Municipal Code, every ammunition vendor in the city must record the sale date, the buyer’s name, address, date of birth, and government-issued ID number, along with the brand, type, and quantity sold. Vendors also collect a right thumbprint from the purchaser.9American Legal Publishing Corporation. Los Angeles Municipal Code SEC 55.11 – Requirements for Ammunition Sales California adds a statewide $5 background check fee on every ammunition purchase, effective since July 2025.10State of California Office of the Attorney General. Regulations – Ammunition Purchase Fee
Seattle regulates how firearms are stored inside the home. The city requires every firearm to be secured in a locked container when it is not being carried or under the owner’s direct control.11Municode Library. Seattle Municipal Code 10.79.020 – Safe Storage of Firearms A violation is a civil infraction carrying a fine of up to $500. If a minor, prohibited person, or at-risk individual gains access because of the violation, the fine rises to $1,000. If that person then uses the firearm to injure or kill someone or commit a crime, the fine can reach $10,000 per victim.12Seattle City Clerk. Ordinance 125620
Where You Cannot Carry: New Jersey Cities and Honolulu
A valid carry permit is not a universal pass in these cities. Jersey City, Newark, and other New Jersey cities operate under a statewide sensitive-places law that bars firearms from parks designated as gun-free zones, libraries, museums, public transportation vehicles and transit hubs, schools, government buildings, and areas within 100 feet of a permitted public demonstration.13Justia Law. New Jersey Code 2C-58-4.6 – Prohibited Areas, Carrying, Firearms, Destructive Device The transit ban means permit holders cannot carry on buses, trains, or ferries anywhere in the state. Carrying into any restricted area is a third-degree crime, punishable by three to five years in prison.14Justia Law. New Jersey Code 2C-43-6 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Crime
Honolulu enforces a similarly broad network of prohibited zones. Firearms cannot be carried in city-owned buildings, public parks during operating hours, schools, public transportation, hospitals and medical offices, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, theaters and entertainment venues, shelters, and areas near polling places during elections. The Ninth Circuit upheld most of these restrictions in 2024, including the bans on carry in parks, beaches, and bars.15State of Hawaii Office of the Governor. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Crucial Laws Regulating Concealed Carry of Firearms
Honolulu also flips the usual assumption for private property. Firearms are presumed prohibited on anyone else’s private property unless the owner has given express authorization. The property owner must affirmatively permit carry, not merely fail to post a sign against it.
Local Gun Taxes and Insurance in Seattle and San Jose
Seattle imposes a local excise tax on every retail firearm and ammunition sale within city limits. Each firearm sold carries a $25 tax. Ammunition is taxed per round: $0.02 for .22 caliber and smaller, and $0.05 for everything else. Casual sellers are exempt if they sell no more than one firearm or fewer than 50 rounds per quarter.16City of Seattle. Firearms and Ammunition Tax
San Jose became the first U.S. city to require gun owners to carry liability insurance. Since January 2023, every resident who owns or possesses a firearm in the city must obtain and maintain a homeowner’s, renter’s, or gun-specific liability policy covering accidental death, injury, or property damage caused by the firearm. Officers who find a firearm without a corresponding insurance attestation form on file can issue an administrative citation starting at $250. The city also planned a $25 annual gun harm reduction fee, but that fee is not yet being collected while the city identifies a nonprofit to administer the program.17San Jose Police Department. Gun Harm Reduction Ordinance
Ghost Gun Bans
Several of the strictest cities have moved against unserialized firearms assembled from parts kits or unfinished frames and receivers. Philadelphia passed a local ordinance in early 2021 regulating possession and manufacturing of ghost guns, including the kits used to build them, and requiring firearm manufacturing to be done by licensed manufacturers in compliance with state and federal law.18Philadelphia City Council. Ghost Guns Are Against the Law in Philadelphia Pennsylvania’s preemption law limits city enforcement, but possessing a firearm with a removed or obliterated serial number is a separate felony under state law anywhere in Pennsylvania. New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have enacted similar local bans.
Passing Through With a Firearm
Federal law offers some protection for owners driving through these cities. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 926A, a person who is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm may transport it from one place where they can lawfully possess it to another, even if the route passes through a jurisdiction where possession would otherwise be illegal. The firearm must be unloaded and stored where it is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
Some cities and states treat this federal protection as an affirmative defense rather than immunity from arrest. An officer in New York City can still arrest you for possessing a firearm without a city license, and you would raise the federal safe-passage defense afterward in court. Stops beyond what the trip requires, such as an overnight hotel stay or errands, can weaken or forfeit the protection. Anyone driving through one of these cities with a firearm should follow the federal storage requirements to the letter.