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.”

According to Rachel Everley, a volunteer with the Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action, lawmakers on Beacon Hill “took lifesaving action last year to enact this major piece of gun safety legislation.”

“And our communities have already benefited from this hard work. Today’s announcement is just further evidence of the value of our combined efforts,” Everley said.

Everytown says their rankings show a “clear connection” between stronger gun laws and fewer firearms related incidents. If every state had laws like the Bay State’s, they say, “299,000 lives could be saved in the next decade.”

“Gun laws save lives and states that enact common-sense, bipartisan policies are clearly standing on the side of public safety,” Nick Suplina, Senior Vice President for Law and Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, said in a statement.

“As 2025 gets underway, we’re doubling down in the states, defending the gains we’ve made and charting new paths ahead. We can turn the tide on our nation’s gun violence crisis, but only if all leaders step up to meet the moment,” he continued.

Rounding out the top five states with the safest gun laws in this year’s rankings are California, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, and Connecticut. Coming in last were Idaho, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

The Bay State’s jump in the rankings comes after lawmakers passed An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws in 2024. That law cracked down on ghost guns, enhanced the state’s “red-flag laws,” increased the number of places where carrying a firearm is prohibited, raised the age to buy a shotgun or rifle to 21, and began the process of requiring a live fire component as part of firearms licensing.

James Cordeiro, a volunteer leader with the Canton High School Students Demand Action chapter, said in a statement that “what we’ve achieved in Massachusetts shows we don’t have to accept gun violence as inevitable – no matter what the gun lobby says.”

The Gun Owners Action League, a Massachusetts based gun rights group, has challenged parts of the 2024 law in court, including the requirement for licensees to participate in live fire exercises.