The Bay State has the second strongest gun laws in the nation, according to new rankings from gun safety advocates Everytown. The designation in the group’s “ 2025 State Gun Law Rankings ” places Massachusetts up from the fifth place position on “the strength of its gun laws.”

This story was published in partnership with The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. A version of this story was first published online in July. For decades, McLean Bible Church has served as the place of worship for many of DC’s Republican elite.

Deadly gun violence has been steadily rising for years in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of Americans killed by a firearm climbed by more than 20% in the last four years of available data — from less than 40,