Local governments in Kentucky lack authority to regulate firearms or ammunition, and Kentucky requires the Department of State Police to issue a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon to any applicant who meets certain qualifications.

Statistics

Gun Deaths in Kentucky

Kentucky ranks 12th among the states in the rate of gun deaths per capita. In 2007, 612 people died from firearm-related injuries in Kentucky.¹

Crime Guns in Kentucky

In 2007, Kentucky ranked fourth among the states in terms of number of crime guns supplied to other states per capita.²

In 2008, 3,970 firearms were recovered in Kentucky and traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”). ATF was able to identify the source state for 2,443 of these firearms. Of these 2,443 firearms, 1,781 were originally sold by gun dealers in Kentucky.³

Firearm transfers in Kentucky

In 2007, the FBI conducted 1,587,850 background checks for firearm transfers occurring in Kentucky, the largest number for any one state.⁴

Number of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers in Kentucky

There are 1,223 federally licensed firearms dealers and pawnbrokers in Kentucky.⁵

State "Right to Bear Arms"

Kentucky’s constitution provides for the bearing of arms, but permits gun regulation for public health and safety purposes. See LCAV’s State Right to Bear Arms Provisions.

Local Authority to Regulate Firearms

Kentucky has preempted most areas of local firearms regulation. See LCAV’s State Preemption/Local Authority to Regulate Firearms summary for further information.

State Firearms Policies

Please note that many firearm-related laws have exceptions for military and law enforcement personnel.

Persons Prohibited from Firearm Possession

Prohibited Purchasers Generally

Federal law prohibits certain persons from purchasing or possessing firearms, such as felons, certain domestic abusers, and certain people with a history of mental illness. Similarly, Kentucky law prohibits possession of a firearm by anyone convicted of a felony after July 15, 1994, and possession of a handgun by anyone convicted of a felony after January 1, 1975.⁶

For information on the background check process used to enforce these provisions, see the Kentucky Background Checks section.

Kentucky has no laws preventing the purchase or possession of firearms by:

Violent misdemeanants;
Persons with mental illness;
Persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders;
Drug or alcohol abusers; or
Juvenile offenders.

See Regulating Guns in America: Prohibited Purchasers for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Minimum Age to Purchase / Possess

Kentucky provides no minimum age for the possession of rifles or shotguns, although federal age restrictions still apply.

Kentucky prohibits a person under the age of 18 from possessing, manufacturing or transporting a handgun, unless he or she is:

In attendance at a hunter's safety course or a firearms safety course;
Practicing in the use of a firearm or target shooting at an established firing range, or any other place where the discharge of firearms is not prohibited;
Engaging in an organized competition involving the use of a firearm, or participating in or practicing for a performance by a non-profit group that uses firearms as a part of the performance;
Hunting or trapping pursuant to a valid license issued pursuant to Kentucky statutes or administrative regulations;
Traveling to or from any activity described above with an unloaded handgun;
On real property which is under the control of an adult and has the permission of that adult and his or her parent or legal guardian to possess a handgun; or
At his or her residence and in the possession of a handgun with the permission of his or her parent or legal guardian and justified in using physical or deadly physical force.⁷

Kentucky prohibits any person from intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly providing a handgun to any person he or she knows or has reason to believe is under age 18. See the Kentucky Child Access Prevention section for further information about this prohibition. Note that federal age restrictions generally prohibit licensed firearms dealers from transferring a handgun to anyone under age 21.

See Regulating Guns in America: Minimum Age to Purchase / Possess Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Domestic Violence & Firearms

Kentucky has no law prohibiting individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition. Kentucky also has no law prohibiting individuals subject to domestic violence protective orders from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition. Federal law, however, prohibits the purchase and possession of firearms and ammunition by certain domestic abusers. Kentucky also has no law providing for the removal of firearms or ammunition from the scene of a domestic violence incident, or from the subject of a domestic violence protective order.

Kentucky law only includes the following provisions relating to domestic violence and firearms:

The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet must make a reasonable effort to provide notice to a person who obtained a domestic violence protective order if the person subject to the order has attempted to purchase a firearm. This requirement only applies if the person who sought the protective order requests such notification.⁸
A court or agency making a decision regarding pretrial release of a person who is arrested for assault or certain sexual violations or who has been charged with a violation of a domestic violence protective order may impose, as a condition or pretrial release, an order prohibiting the person from using or possessing a firearm.⁹
Kentucky provides for the suspension of a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon if the licensee is subject to a domestic violence protection order.¹⁰

Finally, Kentucky law explicitly provides that a restraining order triggered by a conviction for, or guilty plea to, stalking does not "operate as a ban on the purchase or possession of firearms or ammunition by the defendant."¹¹

See Regulating Guns in America: Domestic Violence and Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Disarming Prohibited Persons

Kentucky has no law requiring the removal of firearms from persons who have become prohibited from possessing them.

Sales & Transfers

Background Checks

Federal law requires federally licensed firearms dealers (but not private sellers) to initiate a background check on the purchaser prior to sale of a firearm. Federal law provides states with the option of serving as a state “point of contact” and conducting their own background checks using state, as well as federal, records and databases, or having the checks performed by the FBI using only the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”) database. (Note that state files are not always included in the federal database.)

Kentucky is not a point of contact state for the NICS. Kentucky has no law requiring firearms dealers to initiate background checks prior to transferring a firearm (although no person may knowingly transfer a firearm to a convicted felon).¹² As a result, in Kentucky, firearms dealers must initiate the background check required by federal law by contacting the FBI directly.¹³

In addition, federal law does not require dealers to conduct a background check if a firearm purchaser presents a state permit to purchase or possess firearms that meets certain conditions.¹⁴ As a result, concealed weapons license holders in Kentucky are exempt from the federal background check requirement.¹⁵ (Note, however, that people who have become prohibited from possessing firearms may continue to hold state permits to purchase or permit firearms if the state fails to remove these permits in a timely fashion.)

See Regulating Guns in America: Background Checks for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Kentucky does not require private sellers (sellers who are not licensed dealers) to initiate a background check when transferring a firearm. See Regulating Guns in America: Private Sales.

Mental Health Reporting

Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by any person who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective” or involuntarily “committed to any mental institution.”¹⁶ No federal law, however, requires states to report the identities of these individuals to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”) database, which the FBI uses to perform background checks prior to firearm transfers.

Kentucky has no law requiring the reporting of mental health information to NICS.

For general information on the background check process and categories of prohibited purchasers or possessors, see the Kentucky Background Checks section and the section entitled Kentucky Prohibited Purchasers Generally.

See Regulating Guns in America: Mental Health Reporting for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Multiple Purchases / Sales of Firearms

Kentucky has no law restricting sales or purchases of multiple firearms. See Regulating Guns in America: Restrictions on Multiple Purchases or Sales of Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Retention of Sales / Background Check Records

Kentucky has no law requiring the retention of records of firearms sales or background checks. See Regulating Guns in America: Retention of Firearm Sales and Background Check Records for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Waiting Periods

Kentucky has no law imposing a waiting period prior to purchase of a firearm. See Regulating Guns in America: Waiting Periods for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Gun Dealers & Other Sellers

Dealer Regulations

Federal law requires firearms dealers to obtain a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), although resource limitations prevent the ATF from properly overseeing all its licensees.

Kentucky has no law requiring firearms dealers to obtain a state license or permit. Kentucky also has no law requiring dealers to conduct a background check on prospective firearm purchasers, although the federal background check requirement applies. The only law Kentucky has concerning any kind of firearm sale prohibits knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon.¹⁷

See Regulating Guns in America: Dealer Regulations for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Private Sales

Kentucky has no law requiring a background check on the purchaser of a firearm when the seller is not a licensed dealer. The only law Kentucky has that governs private sales of firearms prohibits knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon.¹⁸ See Regulating Guns in America: Private Sales for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Gun Shows

Kentucky has no laws explicitly regulating gun shows. See the Kentucky Private Sales section for state laws that may apply at gun shows. See Regulating Guns in America: Gun Shows for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Immunity Statutes

Kentucky law prevents any person or entity from being held liable for damages resulting from the criminal use of a firearm by a third person, unless the person or entity conspired with the third person to commit, or willfully aided, abetted, or caused the commission of, the criminal act in which the firearm was used.¹⁹ This immunity law is similar to the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act ("PLCAA"), which became law on October 26, 2005.²⁰ The Kentucky law is different from the PLCAA, however, because it states that it does not modify the doctrine of negligence or strict liability relating to abnormally dangerous products or activities and defective products.²¹

Kentucky law also prevents local governments from bringing most lawsuits against the firearms or ammunition industry.²² This law does not, however, prohibit a local governmental unit from bringing an action against a firearms or ammunition manufacturer or dealer for breach of contract or warranty as to firearms or ammunition purchased by that local unit of government.²³

Kentucky also limits the liability of shooting ranges for noise,²⁴ and prevents a shooting range that has been in operation for at least one year from being deemed a nuisance solely as a result of changed conditions in or around the locality of the range.²⁵

For detailed information about government and private party lawsuits against the gun industry, the status of litigation involving gun industry immunity statutes in various states, or pending gun industry immunity legislation, visit the Brady Center's Legal Action Project and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence's Gun Industry Immunity page.

See LCAV’s policy page on Immunity Statutes / Manufacturer Litigation for further information.

Gun Owner Responsibilities

Licensing of Gun Owners / Purchasers

Kentucky has no law requiring gun owners or purchasers to obtain a license. See Regulating Guns in America: Licensing of Gun Owners or Purchasers for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Registration of Firearms

Kentucky has no law requiring firearms to be registered. See Regulating Guns in America: Registration of Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Reporting Lost or Stolen Firearms

Kentucky does not require firearms owners to report the loss or theft of a firearm. See Regulating Guns in America: Reporting Lost or Stolen Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Firearms in Public Places

Concealed Weapons Permitting

See Regulating Guns in America: Carrying Concealed Weapons for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Kentucky does not prohibit a person from carrying a concealed deadly weapon in public if the person has a license.²⁶ Kentucky is a "shall issue" state, meaning that the Kentucky Department of State Police ("DSP") must issue a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon if the applicant meets certain qualifications.²⁷ An applicant for a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon must:²⁸

Be a United States citizen or a person lawfully admitted to the United States;
Be a state resident for at least six months or a member of the armed forces on active duty assigned to a posting in Kentucky for the preceding six months;
Be 21 years of age or older;
Be eligible to possess a firearm under state and federal law;
Not have been committed to a facility for abuse of a controlled substance or been convicted of a misdemeanor related to controlled substances, within the previous three years;
Not have been convicted two or more times of driving under the influence or involuntarily committed to a hospital for treatment as an alcoholic, within the previous three years;
Not owe a child support arrearage equaling or exceeding one year of nonpayment, if DSP have been notified of the arrearage by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services;
Have complied with any subpoena or warrant relating to child support or paternity proceedings, unless the Cabinet for Health and Family Services does not notify DSP of the proceedings; and
Not have been convicted of assault or "terroristic threatening” within the preceding three years, unless DSP has waived this requirement based on good cause and a determination that the applicant is not a danger.²⁹

Firearms Safety Training

In addition, Kentucky law requires that an applicant demonstrate "competence with a firearm by successful completion of a firearms safety course offered or approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Training."³⁰ The course must be no more than eight hours in length, and include instruction on the safe use of handguns, the care and cleaning of handguns, and handgun marksmanship principles. The course must include actual range firing of a handgun in a safe manner, and the firing of not more than 20 rounds at a full-size silhouette target, during which firing, not less than 11 rounds must hit the silhouette portion of the target. The course must also include information on and a copy of Kentucky laws relating to possession and carrying of firearms, and the Kentucky laws relating to the use of force.³¹

Disclosure or Use of Information

Kentucky law requires DSP to maintain an automated listing of persons with licenses to carry concealed deadly weapons and other pertinent information.³² The database must be available at all times online to all law enforcement agencies who request information relating to a named licensee.³³ However, DSP must deny a request for the entire list of licensees or for all licensees in a geographic area.³⁴ Information relating to license applicants and holders must otherwise remain confidential.³⁵

Duration & Renewal

Kentucky licenses to carry concealed deadly weapons are valid for five years from the date of issuance.³⁶ Kentucky law prevents a license from being renewed without a background check, including a NICS check, and a determination that the applicant is eligible for the license.³⁷ Kentucky law also prevents a license from being renewed more than six months after its expiration date; at that time the license is deemed permanently expired and the licensee must reapply for licensure.³⁸

Reciprocity

Kentucky law allows a person who has a valid license to carry a concealed deadly weapon from another state to carry a concealed deadly weapon in Kentucky.³⁹ In addition, Kentucky law requires DSP to enter into written reciprocity agreements with other states so that Kentucky license holders may carry concealed deadly weapons in the other state either on the basis of a Kentucky-issued concealed deadly weapon license, or because the other state will issue its own license to carry concealed deadly weapons based upon a Kentucky concealed deadly weapon license.⁴⁰

Brady Exemption

Federal law does not require dealers to conduct a background check if a firearm purchaser presents a state permit to purchase or possess firearms that meets certain conditions.⁴¹ As a result, holders of Kentucky concealed weapons licenses issued after July 12, 2006 are exempt from the federal background check requirement.⁴² (Note however, that people who have become prohibited from possessing firearms may continue to hold state permits to purchase or permit firearms if the state fails to remove these permits in a timely fashion.)

Open Carrying

Kentucky has no law regulating the open carrying of firearms in public.

Location Restrictions

Guns in Vehicles

Kentucky law prohibits carrying a concealed deadly weapon without a license, but does not specify how firearms must be kept inside motor vehicles. A firearm is not considered concealed if it is located in a glove compartment, regardless of whether the compartment is locked, unlocked, or does not have a locking mechanism.⁴³ Kentucky law explicitly prevents any person or organization, public or private, from passing a law or otherwise prohibiting the keeping of a firearm or ammunition in a glove compartment.⁴⁴ In addition, no person may prohibit a concealed deadly weapons licensee from possessing a firearm or ammunition at any place in his or her vehicle, although colleges, universities, and other postsecondary education facilities are exempt from this prohibition. Such facilities may control the possession of deadly weapons on any property owned or controlled by them.⁴⁵

Kentucky forbids any owner, lessee or occupant of real property, including an employer, from prohibiting the legal possession of a firearm, ammunition, or an ammunition component in a vehicle on the property.⁴⁶ Kentucky law provides that the firearm may be removed from the vehicle or handled in the case of self-defense, defense of another, defense of property, or as authorized by the owner, lessee or occupant of the property.⁴⁷ An employer that fires, disciplines, demotes or otherwise punishes an employee who is lawfully exercising one of these rights is liable in a civil action for damages and an injunction.⁴⁸

Guns in Schools

Kentucky prohibits the knowing possession of a firearm, whether openly or concealed, in a building, on a bus, or on any other property owned, used, or operated by any public or private school.⁴⁹ This prohibition does not apply to:

Persons possessing firearms for instructional or school-sanctioned ceremonial purposes;
A postsecondary school or a school of higher education;
Adults who possess firearms which are contained within vehicles and which are not "brandished" while the vehicle is on school property;
Any other persons, including exhibitors of historical displays, who have been authorized to carry a firearm by the board of education or board of trustees of the public of private institution;
Persons hunting during the lawful hunting season on lands designated as open to hunting by the board of the educational institution; and
Persons possessing unloaded hunting weapons while traversing the grounds of any public or private school, unless the grounds are posted prohibiting the entry.⁵⁰

With certain exceptions, public or private universities, colleges, and other postsecondary education facilities (including technical schools and community colleges) may prohibit carrying concealed weapons by licensees on their properties.⁵¹

See LCAV’s policy page on Guns in Schools for further information.

Other Location Restrictions

Kentucky law prohibits possession of a loaded firearm in a room where alcoholic beverages are being sold at a retail establishment licensed to sell alcohol "by the drink."⁵² This prohibition does not apply to restaurants that are open to the public, have dining facilities for at least 50 people, and receive at least 50 percent of their gross annual income from the sale of food.⁵³

Kentucky law explicitly prohibits a CCW license holder from carrying a concealed deadly weapon into any:

Police station or sheriff’s office;
Detention facility, prison or jail;
Courthouse, solely occupied by the Court of Justice courtroom, or court proceeding;
Meeting of the governing body of a county, municipality, or special district, or of the General Assembly or a committee of the General Assembly, unless the licensee is a member of that body;
Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcohol for consumption on the premises, where that part of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose;
Elementary or secondary school facility, without the consent of the school authorities;
Child care facility, day care center or certified family child-care home, unless the licensee is the owner of a certified family child-care home operated out of his or her residence;
Area of an airport to which access is controlled by the inspection of persons and property; or
Place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.⁵⁴

It is not clear whether Kentucky law allows the open carrying of firearms in these locations. Similarly, Kentucky law provides that a license holder generally may not carry a concealed deadly weapon into any private business if prohibited by the owner, manager or employer.⁵⁵ If the carrying of concealed weapons is prohibited in a building or premises open to the public, the employer or business must post signs to that effect.⁵⁶ A license holder who carries a concealed deadly weapon into a private business where prohibited may be denied access to, or removed from, the premises.⁵⁷ If the license holder is an employee of the business, he or she may be subject to disciplinary measures by his or her employer.⁵⁸

The following persons, however, if they have a license to carry a concealed weapon, may carry a concealed firearm "at all times and at all locations within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, without any limitation" (except for detention facilities):

Commonwealth attorneys;
County attorneys or assistant county attorneys;
Justices or judges of the Court of Justice, including those with senior status or who are retired;
Elected sheriffs and full- and part-time deputy sheriffs when expressly authorized to do so by their employer;
Elected jailers and deputy jailers who have successfully completed Department of Corrections basic training and maintain their current training when authorized to do so by their employer; and
Department heads and employees of a corrections department (where the office of elected jailer has been merged with the office of sheriff) and who have successfully completed Department of Corrections basic training and maintain their current training when authorized to do so by their employer.⁵⁹

Units of state, city, county, urban-county, or charter county government may prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons by licensees in portions of buildings actually owned, leased, or occupied by that unit of government.⁶⁰ Such ordinances must “exempt any building used for public housing by private persons, highway rest areas, firing ranges, and private dwellings owned, leased, or controlled by that unit of government from any restriction on the carrying or possession of deadly weapons."⁶¹ The Kentucky Attorney General has interpreted these provisions to mean that a county legislative body may prohibit or limit the carrying of concealed weapons in buildings in parks or portions of buildings in parks that it owns, leases, or controls. The county judge or executive (the chief elected official of counties in Kentucky) does not qualify as a "legislative body" and thus cannot regulate the carrying of concealed deadly weapons. That authority instead falls to the fiscal court of a county, which is the legislative body of a county.⁶²

Kentucky has no law prohibiting firearms in:

Hospitals;
Places of worship;
Sports arenas;
Gambling facilities; or
Polling places.

Consumer & Child Safety

Design Safety Standards for Handguns

Kentucky imposes no design safety standards on handguns. See Regulating Guns in America: Design Safety Standards for Handguns for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Locking Devices

Kentucky has no laws regarding locking devices for firearms. See Regulating Guns in America: Locking Devices for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Personalized / Owner-Authorized Firearms

Kentucky does not require firearms to be personalized. See Regulating Guns in America: Personalized Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Child Access Prevention

Kentucky does not impose criminal liability for negligent storage of a firearm, even if a child gains access to the firearm and causes an injury or death. Kentucky prohibits any person from intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly providing a handgun to a person under age 18 or permitting a person under age 18 to possess a handgun, except in the limited situations where it is legal for the person under 18 to possess a handgun.⁶³ In addition, it is unlawful for the parent or legal guardian of a juvenile to provide a juvenile with a handgun or permit a juvenile to possess a handgun if the parent or guardian:

Knows that there is a substantial risk that the juvenile will use a handgun to commit a felony offense;
Knows that the juvenile has been convicted of a crime of violence; or

Knows the juvenile has been adjudicated a public offender of an offense which would constitute a crime of violence.⁶⁴

See Regulating Guns in America: Child Access Prevention for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Classes of Weapons / Ammunition

Assault Weapons

Kentucky has no law restricting assault weapons. See Regulating Guns in America: Assault Weapons for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines

Kentucky has no law restricting large capacity magazines. See Regulating Guns in America: Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Fifty Caliber Rifles

Kentucky has no law restricting fifty caliber rifles. See Regulating Guns in America: Fifty Caliber Rifles for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Machine Guns / Automatic Firearms

Kentucky has no law restricting machine guns, although federal law applies. See LCAV’s policy page on Machine Guns for further information.

Non-Powder Guns

Kentucky has no law restricting non-powder guns. See Regulating Guns in America: Non-Powder Guns for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Ammunition Regulation

Kentucky law, like federal law, prohibits any person from knowingly manufacturing, selling, delivering, transferring, or importing armor-piercing ammunition, defined as a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium, with exceptions for certain sporting shot and industrial materials.⁶⁵ This prohibition does not apply to members of the United States Armed Forces or law enforcement acting within the scope of their duties, and does not prohibit licensed gun dealers from possessing the ammunition for the purpose of receiving and transferring it to these exempted individuals.⁶⁶

Kentucky law also prohibits a person from being armed with a firearm loaded with armor-piercing ammunition or flanged ammunition during the commission of a felony, or in flight immediately thereafter.⁶⁷ Flanged ammunition is defined as ammunition with a soft lead core and sharp flanges that are designed to expand upon impact.⁶⁸

Kentucky law does not:

Require a license for the sale of ammunition;
Require sellers of ammunition to maintain a record of the purchasers; or
Prohibit persons who are ineligible to possess firearms under state law from possessing ammunition, although the federal ammunition purchaser prohibitions apply.

See Regulating Guns in America: Ammunition Regulation for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Investigating Gun Crimes

Microstamping / Ballistic Identification

Kentucky has no law regarding firearm microstamping or ballistic identification.

See Regulating Guns in America: Ballistic Identification for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Trafficking

Kentucky has no laws aimed at firearms trafficking.

State Links

Commonwealth of Kentucky, Office of the Attorney General

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Louisville Field Division (KY, WV)

Kentucky Center for School Safety

Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center

Kentucky Domestic Violence Association

Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services

Kentucky State Police

Footnotes

^1. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WISQARS Injury Mortality Reports, 1999-2007, at http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_sy.html.

^2. Mayors Against Illegal Guns, The Movement of Illegal Guns in America: The Link between Gun Laws and Interstate Gun Trafficking 7, 24, at http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/downloads/pdf/trace_report_final.pdf.

^3. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information, ATF Firearms Trace Data Report – 2008: Kentucky, at http://www.atf.gov/statistics/download/trace-data/2008/2008-trace-data-kentucky.pdf.

^4. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Letter in Response to Letter from Mayors Against Illegal Guns Requesting NICS Data 9 (October 21, 2008), at http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/downloads/pdf/FBI_NICS_Data_response.pdf.

^5. Federal firearms licensee totals for Kentucky as of September 23, 2009 were provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

^6. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.040. In addition, Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.070 prohibits knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon.

^7. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.100,

^8. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.100.

^9. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.064.

^10.Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(13)(k).

^11. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508.155.

^12. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.070.

^13. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Survey of State Procedures Related to Firearm Sales, 2005, 34 (Nov. 2006), at: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/ssprfs05.pdf.

^14.Federal law exempts persons who have been issued state permits to purchase or possess firearms from background checks if those permits were issued: 1) within the previous five years in the state in which the transfer is to take place; and 2) after an authorized government official has conducted a background investigation, including a search of the NICS database, to verify that possession of a firearm would not be unlawful. 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), 27 C.F.R. § 478.102(d).

^15. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, U.S. Department. of Justice, Brady Law: Permanent Brady Permit Chart (July 3, 2008), at: http://www.atf.gov/firearms/brady-law/permit-chart.html.

^16. 18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(4).

^17. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.070.

^18. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.070.

^19. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 411.155.

^20. 15 U.S.C. §§ 7901 - 7903. The validity and scope of the PLCAA and its exceptions are being tested in courts across the country. For information about these lawsuits and more information about the PLCAA in general, see the Immunity Statutes section of LCAV’s federal law page.

^21. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 411.155.

^22. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 65.045(1).

^23. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 65.045(2).

^24. No shooting range, unit of government, or owner, operator or user of a shooting range may be subject to any action for civil or criminal liability, damages, abatement, or injunctive relief arising from the level of noise produced by the shooting range if the range complies with noise control or nuisance abatement administrative regulations, statutes, or ordinances applicable when the range commenced operation. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.210(2). Lastly, no administrative regulations, statutes, or ordinances relating to noise control, pollution, or abatement adopted by a unit of government may be applied to a shooting range retroactively if the conduct at the shooting range was lawful before the enactment of the regulation, statute, or ordinance. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.210(3).

^25. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.210(1). Expansion of the range facilities or activities "shall not establish a new date of commencement of operations for purposes of this section unless the change triples the amount of the noise produced by the range." Id.

^26. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.020(9).

^27. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(4).

^28. Additional application and background check requirements, as well as permit suspension and disqualification information, are detailed under Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110 and under 502 Ky. Admin. Regs. 11:010-11:070. An honorably retired elected or appointed peace officer is eligible to carry a concealed weapon if he or she meets the requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 926C; successfully completes an annual firearms qualification; and submits a notarized statement that he or she is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 237.138, 237.140.

^29. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(4).

^30. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(4)(i). See 503 Ky. Admin. Regs. 4:010-4:060 for more details regarding these courses.

^31. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(4).

^32. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(10).

^33. Id.

^34. Id.

^35. Id.

^36. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(2)(b). In order to renew a license, the license holder must send to the sheriff of the county in which he or she resides a renewal form, a notarized affidavit stating that he or she remains qualified to hold the license, and the $60 renewal fee. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(7), (14); 502 Ky. Admin. Regs. 11:050 § 4.

^37. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(14).

^38. Id.

^39. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(20)(a).

^40. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(20)(b). Full-time paid peace officers of a government agency from another state or the United States or an elected sheriff from another territory of the United States, may carry a concealed weapon in Kentucky, on or off duty, if the other state or territory accords to equivalent peace officers or sheriffs from Kentucky the same rights by law. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.020(7)(a). Such persons, however, may not carry concealed weapons in detention facilities. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.020(7)(b).

^41. Federal law exempts persons who have been issued state permits to purchase or possess firearms from background checks if those permits were issued: 1) within the previous five years in the state in which the transfer is to take place; and 2) after an authorized government official has conducted a background investigation, including a search of the NICS database, to verify that possession of a firearm would not be unlawful. 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), 27 C.F.R. § 478.102(d).

^42. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, U.S. Department. of Justice, Brady Law: Permanent Brady Permit Chart (July 3, 2008), at: http://www.atf.gov/firearms/brady-law/permit-chart.html.

^43. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.020(8).

^44. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.020(4).

^45. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.020(4) (referencing Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.115).

^46. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.106.

^47. Id.

^48. Id.

^49. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.070(1).

^50. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.070(3). Other exceptions include: (1) Pupils who are members of a reserve officers training corps, a school team or club, or pupils enrolled in a course of instruction, to the extent they are required to carry arms in the discharge of their official class or team duties; (2) Peace or police officers authorized to carry concealed weapons; (3) Persons employed by the military, National Guard, or militia when required in the discharge of their official duties to carry arms; (4) Civil officers of the United States in the discharge of their official duties, although they are not allowed to carry concealed weapons into public or private elementary or secondary school buildings; and (5) Persons possessing guns when conducting or attending a "gun and knife show" when the program has been approved by the board of the educational institution. Id.

^51. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.115(1).

^52. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 244.125.

^53. Id.

^54. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(16).

^55. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.110(17).

^56. Id.

^57. Id.

^58. Id.

^59. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.020(5), (6).

^60. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.115(1), (2).

^61. Id. This section is specifically deemed not to violate the preemption provisions of Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 65.870. Id. However, unless otherwise provided by state or federal law, no criminal penalty may attach to carrying a concealed firearm with a permit at any location at which an unconcealed firearm may constitutionally be carried. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.115(3).

^62. 96 Ky. Op. Att'y Gen. 39, 1996 Ky. AG LEXIS 79. See also 96 Ky. Op. Att'y Gen. 45, 1996 Ky. AG LEXIS 91 (interpreting section 237.115(1) to mean the executive branch of the state government may promulgate an administrative regulation prohibiting those persons licensed to carry concealed deadly weapons from doing so in those portions of buildings owned, leased or occupied by the executive branch.)

^63. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.110(2). See also Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.060(5) (defining “juvenile” as person under age 18). A person "unlawfully" provides a juvenile with a handgun or permits a juvenile to possess a handgun under Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.110(1) when he or she intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly provides a handgun to any person he or she knows or has reason to believe is under age 18, and for whom possession of the handgun would be a violation of:

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.100 (generally criminalizing possession of a handgun by a minor, with certain exceptions—see the Kentucky Minimum Age to Purchase/Possess section for details);
Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.040 (criminalizing possession of a firearm by a convicted felon or a "youthful offender" convicted of a felony); or
Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 600.020 (defining abused or neglected children).
Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.110(1)(a).

^64. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.110(1)(b).

^65. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 237.060(7), 237.080(1).

^66. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.080(2).

^67. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.080(1).

^68. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.060(8).

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