The Concealed Carry
Reciprocity Act Is Long Overdue

There are a record number of concealed carry permit holders in America, but they all face the same obstacle. Their right to keep and bear arms ends at their home state's border.

It would be unthinkable for any other G-d-given right to be considered this way, but this is true of Second Amendment rights. States can issue permits for their citizens to carry a concealed firearm, but that right doesn't travel across state lines.

Congressman Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) is working to change that. He introduced H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would treat a state-issued concealed-carry permit much the same way as a driver's license. They would be valid across state lines and would give the permit holder legal protection for exercising their right to protect themselves and their loved ones.

That's a critical need for the nearly 20 million concealed carry permit holders in the United States. It's a community of gun owners who have only increased seven-fold over the last two decades. With more than 21 million background checks for the sale of a firearm in 2020 and an estimated 8.4 million of those firearms being sold to first-time gun buyers, the need to protect law-abiding concealed carry permit holders is only going to grow.

The Problem

The problem facing concealed carry permit holders is that their Second Amendment right is regulated differently by all 50 states. Sixteen states have some form of constitutional carry, meaning a permit is not required to carry a concealed firearm, though some in that list of states restrict that to only residents. ....