Block Concealed Carry Reciprocity

What does it solve?

Federal concealed carry reciprocity (CCR) legislation would gut state standards for who may carry hidden, loaded handguns in public. CCR would force each state to recognize the concealed carry standards from every other state, even those that have dramatically weaker standards—and those that don’t require any permit at all.

Federal law sets a baseline standard across the country for who is allowed to have guns, but does not otherwise regulate the carrying of concealed handguns in public. States set their own standards for having guns and for carrying concealed handguns in public. These standards vary dramatically state-by-state. States also decide which out-of-staters may carry concealed handguns within their borders. CCR is a threat to public safety.

Concealed carry permits should be treated just like driver’s licenses. A person licensed to drive in one state is allowed to drive in every other state, and a person legally allowed to carry a hidden, loaded handgun in one state should be allowed to do so in every other state.

There are major differences between driver’s license laws and concealed carry laws. Driver’s license applicants are required to meet core public safety standards with little variation among states, and states voluntarily recognize each other’s driver’s licenses as a result. But concealed carry standards vary dramatically across the country—including on safety training, disqualifying violent criminal convictions, and even the requirement to get a permit at all. Concealed Carry Reciprocity would not create a national standard for who can carry hidden, loaded handguns in public. Instead, it would force all states to accept every other state’s standards, including those states with weaker or no standards. Every state requires a driver’s license to drive a car, but several states don’t require a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public, and many states don’t require any safety training. Forcing every state to allow these individuals to carry concealed handguns would be like forcing states to let visitors drive on their highways without a driver’s license and without having passed an eye, written, or road test.

The gun lobby has been trying to pass CCR legislation for more than two decades.

Federal Concealed Carry Reciprocity would force states to allow violent offenders and people with no firearm safety training to carry hidden, loaded handguns within its borders—even if those people could not otherwise legally buy a gun in the state. CCR does not create a national standard for concealed carriers across the country.

Further, police often have no way to verify if an out-of-state permit is valid—meaning they would be unable to confirm if a person showing a carry permit is a law-abiding gun owner. And because the legislation would even allow concealed carry by some people with no permit at all, out-of-state visitors could be armed without being screened by a background check, and law enforcement would have no permit to evaluate.

Existing federal law already protects a law-abiding gun owner responsibly transporting firearms in a vehicle through a state—even if the state law would otherwise prohibit him from doing so. CCR legislation would not amend this existing protection, but would instead override state standards for who may carry hidden, loaded handguns in public.

By the numbers

13-15%

States that have weakened their firearm permitting system have experienced a 13-15 percent increase in violent crime rates.

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24%

After Arizona passed a permitless carry law, citizens were 24 percent more likely to be fatally shot if involved in a violent crime.

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