Constitutional carry since 2019. No AWB, no mag limit, strong preemption. Stand-your-ground codified. Suppressors legal. No waiting period, no red-flag (anti-red-flag statute 2020).

Robust medical cannabis program (SQ 788, 2018) but recreational SQ 820 failed in 2023. Possession remains criminal misdemeanor (no decriminalization). No psychedelic reform. Drug courts available.

State minimum wage $7.25/hr (state matches federal). MIT living wage for 1 adult: $14.50/hr. Ratio 0.50 — minimum-wage workers earn 50% of what's needed to live there alone.

4th-lowest per-pupil spending ($12,162), low tax burden, but NAEP scores well below national average, high uninsured rate, USNews #42, weak infrastructure. Low-spend / low-outcome — no efficiency win.

IJ grades OK D+ (low burden, profit incentive). No QI reform. No-knock allowed. No body cam mandate. No comprehensive privacy law. HB 4156 (2024) anti-sanctuary law. Heavy ALPR use.

No-excuse absentee voting but notarization required (one of only states). Early voting 3 days only. No same-day registration. Strict photo ID. Felons disenfranchised for entire sentence including probation. Republican-drawn maps with high partisan bias. Among most restrictive overall per MAP and Brennan Center.

Medicaid expansion adopted 2021 (by ballot). Total abortion ban with narrow exceptions. Trans youth gender-affirming care ban (SB 613). Bottom-tier Commonwealth Fund ranking. Worst maternal mortality outcomes. Rural hospital closures.

No qualified immunity reform. No statewide BWC mandate. Personnel records confidential. CLEET decertification. No no-knock ban. No necessity standard. Local DAs prosecute. No statewide chokehold ban. Per-capita killings consistently among highest in nation.

Total abortion ban (multiple overlapping). State Superintendent Walters mandated Bible in every classroom (challenged in court). Ten Commandments push. Gender-affirming care ban. No LGBTQ+ protections. Anti-trans bathroom/sports laws. RFRA. Among nation's most aggressive Christian-nationalist legislative agenda. School chaplain law.

Right-to-work state (constitutional, 2001). No paid family leave. No paid sick leave (state preempts locals). Federal OSHA only. Prevailing wage. Weak wage theft enforcement. Above-median fatal injury rate. No heat, domestic worker, or scheduling protections.