MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — States on the eastern side of the country dominate the charts for owning the most machine guns, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
A 2021 report shows five states where more than 40,000 machine guns are registered. There were fewer than 1,000 machine guns registered in three states.
Areas in the Midwest tended to have fewer machine guns registered than elsewhere in the country, according to the data.
The ATF classifies a machine gun as “any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.” Examples include an Ingram MAC-10, Steyr-AUG, a Uzi, HK-MP-5 and a Colt M16.
Here are the 10 states (including Washington D.C.) with the fewest machine gun registrations, according to the ATF:
42. Montana – 2,531
43. Nebraska – 2,403
44. South Dakota – 2,176
45. Wyoming – 2,019
46. Alaska – 1,802
47. North Dakota – 1,670
48. Vermont – 1,465
49. Rhode Island – 630
50. Delaware – 537
51. Hawaii – 441
Here are the 10 states (including Washington D.C.) with the most machine gun registrations, according to the ATF:
10. Ohio – 22,979
9. California – 29,112
8. Maryland – 29,854
7. Illinois – 30,576
6. Connecticut – 35,235
5. Georgia – 42,545
4. Virginia – 43,877
3. New Jersey – 44,422
2. Texas – 46,318
- Florida – 47,117
There are more than 7.5 million registered weapons in the nation, according to the data. Florida, in the top spot with 47,117 machine guns, had 518,725 registered weapons — including 230,917 weapons classified as a “destructive devices,” 175,156 silencers, 50,848 short-barreled rifles and 10,587 short-barreled shotguns.
A “destructive device” is considered “a missile” with an explosive or incendiary charge of more than .25 ounces.
Texas, with more than a million registered weapons, has almost twice as many registered weapons than Florida, which has the second-most registered weapons in the nation. Among the weapons registered in Texas, 332,208 are classified as a “destructive device,” 46,318 are machine guns, 529,150 silencers, 81,000 short-barreled rifles and 10,362 short-barreled shotguns.
