Concealed Carry Laws for Firearms a Moving Target

The recent Florida law enacted October 1st and the Wisconsin law set to go into effect November 1st leave Illinois as the only state without some form of concealed carry law on the books. Concealed carry is defined as practice of carrying a handgun or other weapon in public in a concealed manner, either on one's person or in proximity. The 49 states that do allow concealed carry have a wide range of regulations. Four states, Alaska, Arizona, Vermont, and Wyoming allow residents to carry a concealed weapon without the requirement of any sort of permit at all. The remainder allow residents concealed carry as long as they meet certain criteria required to receive a legally issued permit.

    New York, for example, has fairly strict laws banning the issuance of permits to anyone convicted of certain misdemeanors. In addition, the individuals need to demonstrate a legitimate need, and have to take a mandated firearms training course. Utah is at the other end of the spectrum issuing permits to residents and non residents alike.
    This wide range of state regulations creates a tangled web of laws in two main areas. First, people permitted to carry a concealed weapon in one state may not meet the criteria when they travel to another state with different requirements.
    Secondly, many states have what is know as “reciprocity” where the state is willing to recognize permits issued by other states that have similar criteria in place for the issuance of permits. Virginia recognizes permits from 27 states that have similar standards. Maryland and the District of Columbia, which strictly regulate concealed carry, do not recognize any out of state licenses.
    This complex tangle of differing state regulations has recently been addressed by a House committee. In early September the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act was taken up by a House panel. The act would force states to recognize out of state permit holders regardless of the issuing states standards. At the same time a Senate bill was introduced that would standardize the concealed carry laws as they apply to federal lands. Sponsored by US Senator Mark Begich (D) of Alaska who stated “ Having a patchwork of gun regulations on different public lands is confusing and poor public policy. Alaskans and others should be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights when legally camping, hiking, or fishing on federal lands, and this legislation keeps us on that track.”
    The United States government has direct ownership of almost 650 million acres of land, about 30% of the total US. With much of this land part of our National Park System, located in multiple states, the confusion over concealed carry has led to ongoing debates over the recognition of permits by both the state and federal government.
    With elections season looming right around the corner, special interest groups, on both the left and the right, are lining up to influence passage of these laws. Regardless of the outcome of these two specific pieces of legislation concealed carry laws will continue to be a subject of ongoing public policy debate.