The key facts

  • Idaho's midterm elections include an advisory question on choosing a state firearm: six options, from Winchester rifles to the Colt M1911 pistol
  • The initiative was introduced in March 2026 by the state House majority leader, Republican Jason Monks
  • The measure is non-binding: even if approved by voters, the decision will return to the state legislature

Advisory vote on a 'state firearm'

Idaho already has an official state flower (syringa), vegetable (potato) and even a dinosaur (Oryctodromeus). Now, as AFP reports, in the US midterm elections taking place on Tuesday, voters in the northwestern state are being asked to choose a 'state firearm' — in a non-binding, that is, advisory, ballot question with six options.

What's on the ballot and who proposed the initiative

The list includes four rifles, including two different Winchester models, a single-action .45 Colt revolver — already the official firearm of Arizona — and the semi-automatic Colt M1911 pistol, Utah's official state pistol. The initiative to put the question on the ballot was introduced in March of this year by the majority leader of the state House of Representatives, Republican Jason Monks. 'We have a lot of state symbols — birds, and... we've even talked about the flavor of an official pie... but we don't have a state firearm,' he told his fellow legislators, adding that 'many states have a state firearm, and Idaho should have one too.'

What the vote result means

Even if voters support the measure, the question will return to the state legislature, where elected representatives will make the final decision — meaning the vote is advisory in nature. According to AFP, citing the National Rifle Association (NRA), firearms are widespread in Idaho: in the predominantly rural state, no license is required to own or carry a gun. The NRA also notes that ten states already have a 'state firearm' — in seven cases it is a rifle, in three, a pistol. According to a 2024 Pew Research survey, about a third of the US population owns at least one gun; the exact number of firearms in the country is difficult to determine because federal law prohibits creating a national registry, but estimates suggest there are more guns than people.