Alabama has lax firearm regulations. 3,561 guns eventually linked to crime originated from within the state, while neighboring Georgia and Mississippi were the largest outside sources.
Alaska has the most gun-related deaths of any state, with nearly 20 gun-related deaths per 100,000 people — more than twice the national rate. Most, however, were suicides.
The majority were pistols and came from within the state, though a sizeable portion came from California, Texas, and neighboring New Mexico.
912 traced guns were linked to drug crimes, the second highest category, owing to Arizona's proximity to the cartel lands of northern Mexico.
From outside the state, most guns came from Texas and Florida, though a significant amount came from neighboring states Missouri and Oklahoma.
Arkansas is the third most heavily armed state, with 41.6 guns for every 100,000 people, according to CBS.
Though California is a major exporter of crime guns, just under half of California's firearms traces originated within the state. Most outside guns came from New Mexico, Nevada, and Texas.
In the wake of the San Bernardino shooting on December 2nd, expect California's gun regulations to come under increased scrutiny.
Colorado is no stranger to high-profile mass shootings.
In 1999, 13 people were killed at Columbine High School. In 2012, James Holmes murdered 12 people in a movie theater armed with a shotgun, rifle, and a pistol.
And last November, Robert Lewis Dear killed three people in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.
A significant portion of traces, 435, were receivers/frames, which are essentially stripped-down guns, and not technically considered firearms by US federal law. Receivers up to 80% complete and may be bought and sold freely as a way to skirt gun regulations, though the buyer needs to complete the remaining build themselves.
Though Connecticut has a relatively low crime rate, the deadliest school shooting in American history occurred in 2012 when Adam Lanza shot 20 students and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary school.
363 traced guns were recovered in Wilmington, Delaware's largest city. Pennsylvania was the largest outside source for guns moving into Delaware with 75 traces, followed by Virginia and Florida.
D.C. has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, and it's illegal to carry a loaded firearm in the city. A large portion of the guns that end up in D.C. come from outside the city, specifically Virginia, which is one of the top exporters of crime guns in the US.
Firearm-friendly Georgia, Texas, and Alabama were the largest outside sources for Florida's guns. The recoveries were evenly split between Florida's largest cities.
In October, Florida's House narrowly passed a bill allowing 1.4 million Floridians to openly carry firearms.
A large number of guns also came from the west, driven over from California and Texas.
Gun culture runs deep in Georgia. For example, in Kennesaw, every household is required to own and maintain a firearm.
Hawaii has the lowest gun death rate in the entire country. The largest number of outside traces originated in California and Washington, though the quantities are small (only 8 and 4 respectively).
Idaho is one of the easiest states to buy a gun — no permit or registration is required. Similarly to Alaska, easy access to may have affected suicide rates: guns used in suicides accounted for 32 traces in Idaho last year.
In an effort to tamper gun violence, Chicago has enacted some of the toughest gun regulations in the country. But a huge portion of firearms — 1,041 of them — originated in Indiana.
Though Chicago itself has strict gun laws, it's as easy as driving an hour into Indiana to purchase guns legally.
Indiana is also a major exporter of crime guns. Don's Guns and Galleries, an Indianapolis gun store, sold 2,294 guns eventually linked to crime in the last four years alone, according to the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation.
In July 2017, students and faculty will be legally allowed to carry concealed guns on the University of Kansas campus.
Kentucky is gun friendly — just over half of the traced firearms originated with legitimate sellers within the state. 156 traces originated from legitimate sellers in neighboring Indiana.
1,737 of these guns were recovered in Kentucky's largest city, Louisville.
Texas and Alabama contributed a significant amount of crime guns to Louisiana: 300 and 212 traces originated with legitimate sellers in each state respectively. New Orleans and Baton Rouge were the top source of recovered firearms in Louisiana.
Louisiana also has the highest rate of violent crime in the US, with 10.3 homicides per 100,000 people in 2014, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Neighboring New Hampshire was the largest source of outside guns. 24 of the traced firearms were linked to "family offense" crimes.
Baltimore had a rough 2015: on April 12, Freddie Gray died in police custody sparking a series of riots throughout the city. There were also more per-capita homicides in Baltimore in 2015 than in any year since 1993.
New Hampshire and Maine — states with weaker gun laws than Massachusetts — were a significant source of firearms linked to crimes in Massachusetts in 2014. Many guns came from Florida and Georgia, brought to Massachusetts on the Iron Pipeline — the I-95 highway.
In 2014, Detroit ended the year with 298 murders, the lowest number in 47 years, Forbes reports. Though down, the overall rate of violent crime is more than five times the national average.
About half of these traced firearms originated with legitimate sellers in-state. Neighboring Wisconsin was the largest source of outside guns.
Like neighboring Alabama and Louisiana, Mississippians have easy, legal access to guns.
In 2013, the Supreme Court upheld Mississippi's open carry law, after a long fight in the state legislature.
Mississippi also has the highest overall rate of crime gun exports in the US, according to 2009 data from Mayors Against Illegal Guns. It also had the second highest homicide rate of all states in the US in 2014, according to Death Penalty Information Center.
The killing of Michael Brown and subsequent protests in Ferguson thrust the state's police and gun culture into the spotlight.
A large portion of the guns tracked were rifles, likely because many of Montana residents use them for hunting or protecting livestock. A little under half of the guns traced in Montana came from within the state, while Idaho was the largest outside source. Most guns were recovered in Billings, Montana's largest city.
Montana allows residents to carry concealed weapons, though not in any government or school buildings.
Amid an increasingly partisan divide over the issue of gun control, Republican Nebraska senator Tommy Garrett proposed to eliminate gun-free zones, like college campuses, across the state believing it will make them less vulnerable to active shooters.
Campus officials from the University of Nebraska think otherwise, telling ABC News: "Campus atmosphere benefits from not having weapons too freely available."
Nevada is famous for its gambling, legal prostitution, and lax gun laws. Nevada has the second highest crime rate in the country, with 607.6 violent crimes per 100,000, according to the USA Today.
Many of these crimes come from Nevada's notorious gambling centers, Las Vegas and Reno — 2,684 guns linked to crime were recovered in Las Vegas alone.
Though New Hampshire residents can open carry weapons, it's actually one of the safest states in the US. New Hampshire has the lowest homicide rate (0.9 per 100, 000 people) in the country, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. But violent crime is still high, with 3.9 homicides per 100, 000 people, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Over two-thirds of the guns linked to crimes in New Jersey came from outside of the state, mostly from southern states with weaker gun laws. Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina were the largest outside sources, contributing 386, 201, and 223 guns respectively.
The New York Times describes the I-95 corridor, which runs up from the South through New Jersey, as an "Iron Pipeline" because it's used to traffic a huge number of firearms.
Neighboring Texas was the largest outside source of guns, contributing 100 guns eventually linked to crimes in New Mexico in 2014.
New Mexico is fourth most heavily-armed state in the U.S., with 84, 471 legally registered firearms for a population of 2,085,287, according to CBS.
Similarly to New Jersey, most of the guns linked to crime in New York originate from outside the state, driven up the I-95 Iron Pipeline.
Georgia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania all contributed a significant amount of guns linked to crimes to New York in 2014. 3,552 firearms were recovered in New York City alone, the state's (and country's) most populous city.
Gun traffickers can make huge profits selling illegally in New York. A handgun that sells for $100 legally at a shop in Georgia can go for upwards of $500 when sold illegally in New York City's huge black market, according to the New York Times.
North Carolina has easy access to guns, as more than half of the traces originated from legitimate sellers within the state. Neighboring South Carolina and Virginia were the largest outside sources, contributing 390 and 302 guns respectively in 2014. The ATF recovered the most guns in Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city.
Guns are huge part of North Dakota's culture. The principal of a high school in Fargo recently disallowed a student to use a picture of himself toting a large rifle as a yearbook photo in early December, sparking a fierce debate, reports NBC News.
The most firearms were initially recovered in Columbus, with 2,263 recoveries, followed by Cleveland and Cincinnati, with 1,679 and 1,412 respectively.
Amid ongoing problems with gang violence in its major cities, Ohio introduced new firearm regulations in March, strengthening background checks, but also decreasing the amount of training needed to acquire a permit.
The legislation also allows Ohioans to purchase shotguns, rifles, and ammunition from any state, regardless of reciprocity agreements, reports the Columbus Dispatch.
Over half of guns originated from legitimate sellers within the state. Texas was the largest outside source of crime guns, contributing 66 to Oklahoma in 2014.
The most firearms were recovered in Tulsa, followed by Oklahoma City, with 427 and 207 recoveries respectively.
Though Oregon is a relatively non-violent state with middle-of-the-pack rates of gun ownership, a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in October that killed 10 thrust Oregon's gun culture into the national spotlight.
In December, a Democratic state senator introduced legislation to make it more difficult for Pennsylvanians to acquire guns. If the bill passes, Pennsylvania would require prospective gun owners to first obtain a firearms eligibility license, reports the Lancaster Online.
159 of these firearms originated from legitimate sellers within the state, while Massachusetts, Florida, and Connecticut were the top outside contributors.
The ATF recovered the most guns (216) in Rhode Island's capital, Providence.
South Carolinians have easy access to guns: 2,284 traces originated with legitimate sellers within the state. Neighboring North Carolina and Georgia were the largest outside contributors of firearms in 2014.
In June, Dylan Roof killed nine people in a racially-charged rampage at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Roof, who had formerly been arrested on a felony charge, purchased the .45 Glock handgun he used for the killings legally, after a series of clerical errors let the mandatory three-day waiting period expire, reports NBC News.
Wisconsin and Wyoming were the top outside sources. The most firearms were recovered in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
Neighboring Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi were the top outside sources. 1,172 guns were recovered in Memphis alone, owing to the city's ongoing problem with violent crime.
Owing to Texas's proximity to the Mexican border, "dangerous drug" crimes were reported for 2,104 traced firearms. Texas's three largest cities — Houston, Dallas, and Austin — accounted for the majority of recoveries.
Texas has none of the 1o key state laws that curb illegal gun trafficking, according to Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Texas is one of the top exporters of crime guns to other states in the U.S., according to the Center for American Progress.
Gun sales spiked in Utah this past November. On Black Friday (November 27) the state of Utah conducted 2,485 background checks on gun purchasers alone — a record for single day sales, reports Salt Lake City's KUTV.
Though Vermont has weak gun laws, there's no permit required to carry concealed firearms, according to the NRA. Vermont also has the second lowest rate of violent crime in the entire U.S.
The attorney general of Virginia, a democrat, recently announced that Virginia would stop recognizing concealed carry permits from 25 states that it had previously signed, The Washington Post reported.
In 2007, the deadliest mass shooting in American history occurred on Virginia Tech's campus, when Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students.
In 2014, Virginia also ranked third in terms of the absolute number of crime guns exported, according to the Center for American Progress.
Washington has relatively lax gun laws: there's no state licensing requirements to purchase, or possess handguns, rifles, or shotguns, according to the NRA.
447 of these firearms came from within the state. Pennsylvania was the top outside source, contributing 26 firearms in 2014. The top recovery city was Charleston, with 268.
Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker, a one-time presidential candidate, further relaxed Wisconsin's gun laws in May through a bill that eliminates the mandatory 48-hour waiting period to purchase a handgun in the state, according CBS.
Wyoming is the most heavily armed state in the U.S. with a per capita gun ownership rate of 195.7 per 100 people. This equates to 114,052 registered firearms in a state with only 582,658 people, according to CBS.
Despite this, Wyoming's homicide rate is relatively low, at 2.9 per 100,000 people in 2014, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
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