Almost Half the United States has Constitutional Carry

AmmoLand ^ | 5 March, 2021 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Image from radical gunnuttery, scaled by Dean Weingarten

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- In 2021, the philosophy of states’ law on the Second Amendment right to bear arms fall into three broad categories. They are:

1. Constitutional (permitless) Carry (green). In this situation, no permit is required to carry a loaded handgun, either openly or concealed, in most public spaces most of the time. It is a close approximation of the state of the law when the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791.
2. Shall Issue Permits (blue). This scheme issues permits to carry, mostly to carry concealed, if the person applying for the permit meets certain objective criteria stated in black letter law.
3. Discretionary (May Issue) permits (yellow). This scheme grants the power to deny permits to the issuing authority based on broad, subjective criteria. There is a range of applications, from nearly Shall Issue in Massachusetts to virtually no issue in Hawaii and New Jersey.

During the last two decades, numerous states have changed their laws to restore Second Amendment rights to carry. Those rights had been gradual, over time, infringed with greater and greater significance. in 2001, only Vermont had Constitutional Carry. Vermont had never required a permit. The only attempt to initiate a permit in Vermont was struck down by the State’s Supreme Court. Vermont covers one-quarter of 1 percent (.25%) of the area of the United States.

By early March of 2021, 17 states had restored Constitutional Carry.

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Idaho
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Utah
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

Together, those states and Vermont cover 1,782,985 square miles or 46.8% of the land area of the United States.

The total land area of the United States: US Census is 3,805,927 square miles.

The states which are under the Shall Issue system (24), as of early March in 2021, cover another 46.2% or 1,758,043

[marktwain]

Three additional states are making serious runs at restoring Constitutional Carry.
They are Tennessee, Indiana, and Iowa.

Somewhat less likely are Louisiana and Alabama.

[Shadylake]

TX bringing up the rear on this stuff, as usual. Was like pulling teeth to get the fairly lousy shall-issue even done here.

[Yo-Yo]

Glass half full or half empty? Title says ‘nearly half,’ I’d say ‘just over one third.’

[2111USMC]

Good article.

Thanks Dean.

[Joe 6-pack]

If the right were smart, they would use the case law and precedent for gay marriage to force national reciprocity.

[magyars4]

Indiana has it’s version in front of the state senate.
I’m all for Constitutional carry however my understanding is that you still need a permit if you’re carrying out of state. We need a Federal version!

[SauronOfMordor]

If you go by number of states, yes.

If you go by population, a large percentage of the population lives in restricted-issue states.

[SauronOfMordor]

We do not need a federal CCW, which could be overturned by a hostile Congress in a day.

We need more reciprocity.

[Leaning Right]

That map needs a little editing. The white description should read “May issue - but only if you know someone important.”

[marktwain]

The article is about land area, not number of states or population.

[glimmerman70]

I wish Florida would do that. Would be awesome.

[Jonty30]

6 more states and it becomes national law.

[Jonty30]

Get six more states and it becomes national law.

[SauronOfMordor]

Your point is good, and my observation still stands.

[Mr. Mojo]

The yellow states are “may issue” in name only. For all practical purposes, unless one is politically connected or resides in a rural county with a pro-2a sheriff, those states are “no issue.”

[marktwain]

Most applicants in Massachusetts obtain a permit.

About 10% of the state residents have permits.

[Mr. Mojo]

Thanks. Interesting exception.

[Macoozie]

“That map needs a little editing. The white description should read “May issue - but only if you know someone important.””

Agreed

Wanna bet every Political Animal, and their related partners, have concealed carry . . ?
Senate D Bag Chucky S has been carrying for years. Pig Faced Princess Kirsten G got a holster too.
And you don’t think Molester in Chief King Coomo ain’t got a poclet rocket?

[marktwain]

My memory was off.

About 6% of Massachusetts residents have permits.