Today in the United States, the laws vary from state to state regarding open carry of handguns.
The categories are defined as follows:
Permissive Open Carry States - A state has passed full preemption of all firearms laws. They permit open carry to all non-prohibited citizens without permit or license. Also open carry is lawful on foot and in a motor vehicle.
Licensed Open Carry States - A state has passed full preemption of all firearms laws. They also permit open carry to all non-prohibited citizens once they have been issued a permit or license. Also open carry is lawful on foot and in a motor vehicle.
Anomalous Open Carry States - In these states, open carry is generally lawful, but the state may lack preemption or there may be other significant restrictions.
Non-Permissive Open Carry States - In these states, open carry is not lawful, or is only lawful under a limited set of circumstances, such as when hunting, or while traveling to/from hunting locations, while on property controlled by the person carrying, or for lawful self-defense.
Seven states and the District of Columbia fully prohibit the open carry of firearms. Additionally, there are eleven states which permit open carry without requiring the citizen to apply for any permit or license.
As of August, 2009, four states that currently restrict open carry as a remnant of the post-Civil war Reconstruction era[9] (Texas, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Arkansas) are considering making it again legal.[10][11]
The right for legal United States citizens to keep and bear arms is protected in the United States Constitution under the Second Amendment.[12]