List of U.S. state firearms

A state firearm has only been designated by seven of the fifty States in the United States: Alaska, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee.

In March 2011, Utah adopted the M1911 pistol as its state firearm. This gun was designed by Ogden, Utah native John Browning. The adoption was supported by Republican Utah State Representative Carl Wimmer, who said, "It does capture a portion of Utah's history" and "even bigger than that, it captures a portion of American history."[1] The adoption was opposed by Democratic Utah State Representative Brian King who said, "When we are talking about a state symbol we would do well to come up with one that is more unifying than divisive and this is a very divisive symbol for obvious reasons. This is just a poor choice for a state symbol".

In April 2011, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a bill into law which designated the Colt Single Action Army Revolver as Arizona's state firearm.[2]

In March 2012, Indiana adopted the Grouseland rifle as its state firearm. This rifle is kept at Grouseland, the home of President William Henry Harrison and was made between 1803 and 1812 by John Small, who later became the first sheriff in the state. "This rifle and its maker are both integral parts of Indiana history, and as such, the rifle is worthy of its designation as the Indiana State Rifle," said Senator John Waterman.[3]

In June 2014, Pennsylvania adopted the long rifle as its state firearm.[4]

In July 2014, Alaska adopted the pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 rifle as its state firearm. The bill, sponsored by Senate President Charlie Huggins, refers to the gun as the "rifleman's rifle." The bill says the gun helped Alaskans "establish a firm foothold" in the wilderness between 1930 and 1963.[5]

Table of state firearms

State Firearm Image Date of adoption Note
Alaska Pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 July 2014 [6]
Arizona Colt Single Action Army revolver April 2011 [2]
Indiana Grouseland Rifle Image Not Supplied March 2012 [7]
Pennsylvania Long rifle June 26, 2014 [4]
Tennessee Barrett M82 February 24, 2016 [8]
Utah M1911 pistol March 2011 [1]
West Virginia Hall rifle April 2013 [9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dobuzinskis, Alex (April 29, 2011). "Utah becomes first in U.S. to designate official state gun". Reuters. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Schwartz, David (April 29, 2011). "Arizona governor makes Colt revolver official state gun". Reuters. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  3. ↑ Kelly, Niki (March 7, 2012). "Antique firearm named state rifle". The Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Act of Jun. 26, 2014, P.L. 783, No. 73
  5. ↑ Bohrer, Becky (July 30, 2014). "Parnell signs bill designating state gun". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
  6. ↑ "Parnell signs bill designating state gun". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. July 30, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ State of Indiana. "Indiana Code 1-2-13". Office of Code Revision Indiana Legislative Services Agency. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  8. ↑ "HJR 0231". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Legislature Adopts Rifle as Official W.Va. Firearm". WSAZ. April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013.

1. Official Website displaying photograph of the Grouseland Rifle: http://www.grouselandfoundation.org/new.html

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