Free Republic

John Filippidis, silver-haired family man, business owner, employer and taxpayer, is also licensed to carry a concealed firearm. He’d rather he didn’t feel the need, “but things aren’t like they used to be. The break-ins, the burglaries, all the crime. And I carry cash a lot of the time. I’m constantly going to the bank. “I wanted to be able to defend my family, my household and the ground I’m standing on. But I’m not looking for any trouble.” Filippidis keeps his gun — a palm-sized Kel-Tec .38 semiautomatic, barely larger than a smartphone in a protective case — in...

UPDATE:  Arkansas Senator Jason Rapert has advised Arkansas Carry that ASP Director Col. Stan Witt has issued a correction letter to Idaho.   Here is a copy of the letter:  http://www.isp.idaho.gov/BCI/documents/CWLRECIPROCITY/Arkansas%202013.pdf It was brought to our attention that the Arkansas State Police is side-stepping Act 1089 by Sen. Jason Rapert.  This bill basically obligated Arkansas to recognize all concealed handgun permits in the country.  The Arkansas State Police claim that a state that issues a "weapons" license is not the same as a "concealed handgun" license and therefore will not recognize any state that has "weapon" instead of "handgun" on their...

Alabama recently recognized firearm carry permits from all other states.  This is a continuing trend among states, where it is common for states to recognize each others permits. The situation is reminiscent of the early days of drivers licenses, where research was required to determine what states recognized drivers licenses issued by other states. There are enough votes in the Congress to pass national reciprocity, to insure that people who are allowed to carry guns in one state will be able to exercise their rights in all U.S. territories. National reciprocity has not come to a vote, because the...

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>An interesting admission in the Washington Post:Moments after clearing the first procedural hurdle, Democrats and gun control groups began readying themselves for a potentially more difficult fight: Weeks of Senate debate defending their carefully crafted legislation against possible amendments — particularly a plan to allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons from one state to another — that would kill the bill’s underlying goal. If the underlying goal of the "universal background check" bill is not to "keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentaly ill", both of which are prevented from obtaining concealed carry permits, one...

Friday afternoon Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed 11 bills into law, including SB 21 which amends several firearms-related statutes including authorizing official recognition of any valid concealed carry permit from another state for individuals traveling through or visiting Kansas. Thanks to Gov Brownback, Kansas now has the best Concealed Carry reciprocity in the nation!

(CBS News) The U.S. Senate has yet to act on a so-called "concealed carry reciprocity" bill, which would let people with permits to carry a concealed weapon in their home state carry that weapon into virtually any other state. A similar bill has passed the House. Almost every state now allows the carrying of concealed weapons under certain conditions. Colorado, for example, has issued nearly 130,000 concealed handgun permits since 2003. Robert Paulson is getting his permit to carry a concealed gun and says other seniors should do the same. "Yeah, why not?" he asked. Aimee Galvin is thinking about...

Americans choose to take to the roads for va- cations and to visit friends and family on Memorial Day. Often, they’ll bring their firearms with them for sport or personal protection, and it’s perfectly legal under federal law. This gets under the skin of a handful of anti-gun jurisdictions that have grown so out of control that they’ll jail an active-duty Afghanistan veteran who’s following the letter of the law. A growing, bipartisan movement in Congress is looking to stop the harassment. Rep. H. Morgan Griffith, Virginia Republican, has sponsored legislation that would amend current law to make it clear...

A bill that would allow citizens to carry concealed handguns over state lines is catching harsh criticism from opponents in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting. The bill is the brainchild of Senators David Witter and John Thune, Republicans of Louisiana and South Dakota, respectively. They call it the "Respecting States' Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act," and what the bill does is pretty much all right there in the name. Basically, if you're allowed to carry a concealed gun in your home state, then that alone should be enough to let you carry a weapon in just about...

The State of New Mexico has stopped honoring carry permits from 13 other states in the last two weeks according to a report on Handgunlaw.us. I don't see much good that will come of this especially for the residents of the Land of Enchantment. Notice: New Mexico has stopped honoring 13 other states Permit/Licenses in the last Couple weeks. Many of those states will stop honoring a New Mexico Permit/License. If you are a New Mexico Permit holder Handgunlaw.us advises you to call ahead to make sure your New Mexico Permit is honored. Below is the list of states that...

Law-abiding gun owners can run into serious trouble when on the move. Venturing into firearm-unfriendly states creates confusion about what individuals need to do to abide by a confusing maze of regulations. Congress should act to prevent honest citizens from winding up behind bars because police are misinformed. Rep. Morgan Griffith introduced legislation in late March to strengthen national gun-transport laws. “The most important clarification in this bill is that when you are traveling, as long as your weapon is in a locked container and unloaded, you shouldn’t have to worry about being arrested,” the Virginia Republican told The Washington...

Ryan Jerome took his .45-caliber Ruger with him to Manhattan last September and thought he understood the city's weapons laws when he carried his loaded handgun on a side trip to the Empire State Building. But Jerome, who is from Indiana, soon found himself in a legal tangle that he said illustrates the confusing array of gun laws in the U.S. and the need for uniformity. "How can the city of New York override your rights under the Second Amendment of the Constitution?" said Jerome, 29, who pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor weapons possession charge as part of...

Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has introduced HB495, a bill designed to reform Ohio concealed carry law to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners and continue a trend toward making Ohio law similar to other states. Currently, the gun laws in the Ohio Revised Code contain a number of ambiguities, and a number of "poison pill" provisions that have created confusion for law-abiding Ohioans, law enforcement agencies and the courts. Nine years ago, Governor Robert Taft refused to sign Ohio's concealed carry legislation unless it contained language to address so-called "safety concerns" of anti-gun activists. None of these provisions have...

A legislative committee has signed off on a rule which allows concealed carry permit holders from other states to carry concealed in Wisconsin, even though those states may have looser training requirements. Brian O’Keefe with the state Department of Justice told lawmakers on Tuesday that the agency has been able to keep up with demand for concealed carry permits. “We’re meeting all our statutory requirements,” O’Keefe told members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. “Right now, on average, it’s probably about ten days we can turn them (permit requests) around.” About 100,000 applications have been received. The JCAR approved...

Great news! Pro-gun Senate champions John Thune (R-SD) and David Vitter (R-LA) have decided to stand their ground on their concealed carry reciprocity legislation, despite pressure from gun rights compromisers to weaken the bill. Specifically, Senators Thune and Vitter are sticking with their version of the bill, which recognizes the right to carry concealed by residents of “Vermont-style” and “Constitutional Carry” states.ThuneVitter Such states do not require residents to obtain the government’s permission before carrying a firearm for self-protection. There are currently 17 states that have either enacted legislation in the past or have introduced “Constitutional Carry” laws in their...

A new Minnesota Senate bill would give you more power to use self-defense outside your home. Right now, Minnesota law allows you to protect yourself in your home if you are threatened or believe you are in imminent danger. The law also allows for the use of deadly force. But, under that same law, if you are in public and threatened, you are technically supposed to try and leave the scene or diffuse the situation if possible. If you cannot "retreat" from the threat, you then can use deadly force in self-defense. This new Senate bill, which passed 40-23, not...

ST. PAUL – A bill that would expand Minnesotans’ self-defense rights was approved 40-23 Thursday night by the state Senate. The Personal Protection Act – known by many opponents as the “shoot first” bill – extends the right to use deadly force for personal protection outside the home to any place where an individual lawfully can be, sponsor Sen. Gretchen Hoffman, R-Vergas, said. “This bill isn’t just about guns,” it is about allowing any use of deadly force if necessary to guard against imminent danger, Hoffman said. The bill, approved by the House last year, also would require Minnesota to...

The Philadelphia Inquirer has their knickers in a serious twist over H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011,” stating, “The threat of gun violence to Philadelphia-area residents from the so-called Florida loophole could go national – unless U.S. senators such as Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey, and many others, do the right thing.” Florida loophole? What is this Florida loophole to which they are referring and how does it increase the threat of gun violence? As is so often the case, when the antis start throwing around the ‘loophole’ term, it doesn’t mean evading the law but rather following...

Washington State’s own Tri-City Herald today published an editorial that speaks about the Second Amendment and how many liberals cling to the notion that it is the illegitimate son in the Bill of Rights; interesting timing since other newspapers today also are discussing recent legislation, H.R. 822, adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives to assure right-to-carry licenses and permits are honored across the country when armed citizens travel. This column discussed that legislation. The Philadelphia Inquirer is aghast at the legislation, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette does not seem terribly happy with it, either. But out west in the Tri-Cities,...

ONE question that worries many visitors to defensivecarry.com, a website devoted to the delights and pitfalls of life with a hidden gun, is whether their “concealed-carry” permits will be valid outside the state in which they are issued. Can they take their guns on holiday with them? Can they pack them in their checked bags for a flight? What if their plane is diverted to a spot like New York, which makes it exceedingly difficult to carry a gun? And if they cannot bring their guns with them, how will they defend themselves and their loved ones when threatened? Gun-rights...