Proposed National Reciprocity
on Concealed Carry: S65 Specifics

On January 9, 2025, Senator John Cornyn, (R TX) and Senator John Kennedy (R LA) introduced a national reciprocity carry bill. The bill requires all states to allow people who may legally carry concealed handguns in their state of residence to legally carry concealed handguns in other states. A picture ID would be required to verify the residency of the person who is carrying a concealed handgun.

From the press release of Senator Kennedy:

This legislation would:

• Allow individuals with concealed carry privileges in their home states to exercise those rights in any other state that has concealed carry laws.
• Treat state-issued concealed carry permits like drivers' licenses, allowing an individual to use his or her home-state license to drive in another state while abiding by the speed limit of whatever state that person is in.

The official text of S65 has not, as of this writing, been published in the Congressional record. Senator Grassly (R Iowa) links to a copy of the proposed text. This correspondent will assume the text is accurate for the purposes of this analysis. .....