Constitutional carry since 2016. No AWB, no mag limit, strong preemption. Stand-your-ground codified. Suppressors legal. No waiting period, no red-flag law.

Medical cannabis (Initiative 65 / SB 2095, 2022). Limited decriminalization for first offense possession of small amounts (civil fine). No recreational, no psychedelic reform. Severe penalties for repeat offenses.

State minimum wage $7.25/hr (no state minimum, federal applies). MIT living wage for 1 adult: $14.20/hr. Ratio 0.51 — minimum-wage workers earn 51% of what's needed to live there alone.

Lowest life expectancy (72.6) and bottom income, BUT Mississippi gained 11 NAEP points in 8th grade since 2019 on the 5th-lowest per-pupil spending ($12,324) — the most dramatic education-efficiency story in the country (the Mississippi Miracle). Low taxes, real ROI on schooling.

IJ grades MS D- (low burden, profit incentive). No QI reform. No-knock allowed. No body cam mandate. No comprehensive privacy law. SB 2306 mandates ICE cooperation. Narrow whistleblower protections.

No no-excuse absentee voting (one of few). No early voting (one of three states without). No same-day registration. Strict photo ID. Lifetime felony disenfranchisement for many crimes (most restrictive in nation per Mississippi Constitution Section 241). Recent court ruling against permanent disenfranchisement reversed. Republican-drawn maps with significant racial gerrymandering claims.

Has NOT adopted Medicaid expansion. Total abortion ban (Dobbs originated here). Trans youth gender-affirming care ban. Highest uninsured rate. Worst Commonwealth Fund ranking. Worst maternal mortality, especially for Black women. Rural hospital crisis acute.

No qualified immunity reform. No statewide BWC mandate. Personnel records confidential. MS Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards decertifies but limited public visibility. No no-knock ban. No necessity standard. Local DAs prosecute. No statewide chokehold ban. Per-capita killings among highest in nation.

Total abortion ban (state at center of Dobbs). No statewide LGBTQ+ protections. Gender-affirming care ban for minors. Active 'Don't Say Gay' policy. Religious freedom restoration with broad LGBTQ+ exemptions (HB 1523). No conversion therapy ban. Christian-nationalist legislative trend among nation's most aggressive. Persistent Bible-in-schools efforts.

Right-to-work state (constitutional). No paid family leave. No paid sick leave. Federal OSHA only. No prevailing wage. Among weakest wage theft enforcement nationally. Highest or near-highest fatal occupational injury rate. No heat, domestic worker, or scheduling protections.