Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

Concealed Carry Reciprocity Passes U.S. House of Representatives!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Concealed Carry Reciprocity Passes U.S. House of Representatives!

In a resounding show of support for the Second Amendment, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a legislative package that included H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, and H.R. 4477, the Fix NICS Act of 2017. The bipartisan vote of 231 to 198 advanced a measure that would allow law-abiding Americans who are eligible to carry a concealed handgun under the law of a state to do so in all other U.S. states and territories that recognize the right of their own residents to carry concealed. Without a doubt, this is the strongest piece of self-defense legislation to ever come before Congress. It would also help shore up the National Instant Criminal Background Check System used for licensing and retail firearm purchases by adding additional layers of transparency and accountability to the system.

With Wednesday’s vote, the U.S. Congress ratified the premise that firearms in the hands of law-abiding Americans are a force for good. This of course has been borne out again and again over the past three decades, as more and more Americans have embraced their right to bear arms for self-defense through concealed carry. The nation’s violent crime rate has fallen to historic lows during this time, and concealed carry licensees have proven themselves one of the most law-abiding populations in America. 

Today, all 50 states have laws under which residents may carry or apply to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense. Forty-two states and the District of Columbia broadly recognize a right to do so. The remaining eight states, however, have laws that allow even the most qualified applicants to be denied a license unless they can show an extraordinary “reason” for having one.

This results in an arbitrary and unconstitutional system where people are denied their right to carry not because they’re a public safety risk but because licensing officials simply don’t believe that “ordinary” people should have the right. Meanwhile, favoritism and corruption are permitted to flourish, with licenses handed out to celebrities, rich political donors, and sometimes even applicants with disqualifying backgrounds who can afford to bribe the right people.  

H.R. 38 would end this two-tiered system and ensure that no upstanding American would be denied an effective means of self-defense while traveling from state to state. 

Needless to say, antigun forces will be marshalling an all-out effort to try to block concealed carry reciprocity in the Senate. The same people who insist that Congress has essentially unlimited authority to pass nationwide gun control that would undermine the pro-gun polices of most states are hypocritically citing “states’ rights” as a reason to oppose concealed carry reciprocity. 

Yet under H.R. 38, states would maintain complete control of the standards by which they issue their own concealed carry licenses. And property owners, whether public or private, would maintain discretion over the carrying of firearms on their own premises. The primary effect of the bill would be that a handful of anti-gun states could no longer arrest and prosecute travelers simply for crossing into their territory with an otherwise lawfully carried concealed handgun. Any criminal behavior committed with that firearm, of course, would still be subject to the full force of local law. 

Opponents of H.R. 38 argued against the bill by citing statistics concerning firearm-related crime and suicide. They did and could not, however, establish that lawful concealed carriers are the driving force of these incidents. Indeed, violent crime and criminals who recognize no restrictions on their own actions are the very reason law-abiding people wish to have their own means of self-protection. Concealed carry reciprocity simply helps even the playing field between law-abiding Americans and predatory criminals.

If the Senate is to send the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act to President Trump for his long-promised signature, American gun owners will have to make their voices heard as never before in the nation’s history. 

Wednesday’s vote was a huge step forward for the right of law-abiding Americans to carry a firearm for self-protection, but the fight is not over yet.

TRENDING NOW
Is This What Help Looks Like in Chicago?

News  

Monday, June 5, 2023

Is This What Help Looks Like in Chicago?

Chicago, desperate to do something to try to diminish the violent crime that is ravaging the city, has turned to programs that are not your traditional law enforcement approach to try to help stem the ...

Study: Restrictive Gun Control Laws “Unlikely” to Solve Problem of Youth Gun Violence

News  

Monday, June 5, 2023

Study: Restrictive Gun Control Laws “Unlikely” to Solve Problem of Youth Gun Violence

A first of its kind study published in late May in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network Open concluded that community-level “social vulnerability” factors like poverty, unemployment, crowded housing, and minority status were much more likely than ...

Maine: House to Vote on Anti-Shooting Range Bill

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Maine: House to Vote on Anti-Shooting Range Bill

Tomorrow, the Maine House is scheduled to vote on Legislative Document 1000, which would establish a firearm range safety group within the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. This legislation is the first step in ...

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

News  

Monday, January 30, 2023

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

On Monday, January 30, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) published the final Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces” rule for public inspection in the federal register.

Connecticut:  Gun Control Bill Passes the House and Moves to the Senate

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Connecticut: Gun Control Bill Passes the House and Moves to the Senate

On Thursday, the House passed HB 6667 on a vote of 96-51.  This drastic gun control legislation has a bit of everything.  It contains a ban on open carry and strengthens prohibitions and registration of semi-auto "assault ...

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Pistol Brace Resolution

News  

Monday, April 24, 2023

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Pistol Brace Resolution

On April 19, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted 23-15 to advance H.J.Res.44, which would reign in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ attempt to regulate pistol stabilizing braces. The resolution employs ...

New York:  Approaching End of Session Is A Dangerous Time For Gun Owners

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

New York: Approaching End of Session Is A Dangerous Time For Gun Owners

We are in the ninth inning in Albany, and the anti-gun politicians are always looking to steal a base.  You can count the number of scheduled 2023 legislative session days on one hand, which means ...

Texas Legislature Ends Regular Session After Passing a Trio of Pro-Second Amendment Bills & Rejecting Gun Control Measures

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Texas Legislature Ends Regular Session After Passing a Trio of Pro-Second Amendment Bills & Rejecting Gun Control Measures

The Texas Legislature adjourned from the 2023 Regular Session on Memorial Day and was immediately called back into special session on property tax relief and human smuggling issues.

Grassroots Spotlight: NRA Freedom Fest at Dorchester Gun Shop

Take Action  

Monday, June 5, 2023

Grassroots Spotlight: NRA Freedom Fest at Dorchester Gun Shop

NRA-ILA Grassroots successfully hosted its first NRA FreedomFest at Dorchester Gun Shop in Grand Blanc, MI, in May. We were joined by our community partners, Michigan Open Carry and Ducks Unlimited, and enjoyed a great day in celebration ...

Undercover Video: Sen. Fetterman (D-Pa.) staffer claims boss would be “okay with like overturning the Second Amendment”

News  

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Undercover Video: Sen. Fetterman (D-Pa.) staffer claims boss would be “okay with like overturning the Second Amendment”

It seems as though Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) may like to overturn more than just the U.S. Senate’s standards of professional attire. According to an undercover video of Fetterman senate staffer Luke Borwegen, obtained by O’Keefe Media Group, ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.