Free Republic

Houston’s ABC 13 pointed to Texas’s permitless carry law for handguns following Sunday’s rifle attack inside Lakewood Church. Breitbart News reported the female shooter, who formerly identified by the name “Jeffery,” possessed two guns when she entered the church: an AR-15 and a .22 rifle. ABC 13 covered the story by noting, “Texas is coming up on two years since permitless carry passed in the State Legislature, which has allowed Texans to carry handguns without a license since September 2021.” They elaborated, “Before permitless carry was signed into law, Texans generally needed to be licensed to carry handguns openly or...

The South Carolina Senate passed H. 3594 on February 1, 2024. The bill was passed in the South Carolina House in February of 2023 with a vote of 90 to 30. The Senate added a couple of changes in an amendment to the bill put forward by the president of the Senate, Shane A. Massie. Massie had previously been one of a few Republican South Carolina senators blocking the bill from passage. H. 3594, as amended, goes back to the House for a vote of concurrence with the amendment. The bill passed the Senate on a roll call vote, with...

South Carolina is moving closer to joining the 27 states that have restored Constitutional (permitless) Carry. In all 27 states, the vast majority of adults can carry loaded handguns in most public places without asking the government for permission to do so.Florida’s permitless carry law does not allow for general open carry. Some of the 27 states have some places where carry with a permit is allowed, and carry without a permit is not.In Arizona, a person with a permit can carry in a place that serves alcohol, as long as they do not drink alcohol and keep their weapon...

In 2023, Constitutional Carry (permitless) was restored to 26 states. Vermont always had Constitutional Carry. Those states make up 65% of the land area of the United States of America. According to John Lott, those 27 states contain 44% of the population of the United States. When will a majority of the people in the United States enjoy permitless carry, as well as a majority of the states? It is highly likely Louisiana will join the Constitutional Carry Club in early 2024. Louisiana’s inclusion will increase the percentage of the land area with constitutional carry from 65.3% to over two-thirds,...

U.S.A. — In 1791, when the Bill of Rights was ratified, no permit was required for a citizen of the United States to carry arms, including loaded handguns, in nearly all public spaces. By 1986, only Vermont still had the right to carry loaded, concealed handguns without a permit. A significant number of states continued to maintain the right to carry loaded handguns openly, but the right was severely constrained in practice.In 1986 there were eight states which had “shall issue” laws for concealed carry permits. Those states were Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and...

For years, North Dakota stood out as one of a couple of states which had Constitutional Carry but did not grant the right to carry without a permit to people who were not residents of the state. Wyoming restricted permitless carry to residents but reformed its law in 2021. In the 2023 legislative session, the North Dakota legislature passed two bills restoring and protecting the right to keep and bear arms. Both bills were signed by Governor Doug Burgum (R) of North Dakota in mid-April. One of those bills, HB 1339 extended the Constitutional (permitless) Carry provisions to people who...

Mike Bloomberg gun control affiliate Shannon Watts blamed the shooting at the Nashville-area Covenant School on permitless carry before any details about the incident were known. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) tweeted about the incident at 11 a.m. central time, noting they had engaged the gunman and he was dead. An active shooter event has taken place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, on Burton Hills Dr. The shooter was engaged by MNPD and is dead. Student reunification with parents is at Woodmont Baptist Church, 2100 Woodmont Blvd. pic.twitter.com/vO8p9cj3vx — Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 27, 2023

On Friday, March 3, 2023, the Nebraska Constitutional Carry bill LB77 passed a critical vote in the Nebraska legislature. Nebraska is the only unicameral legislature in the 50 states of the United States. When Nebraska switched from a traditional bi-cameral legislature to a unicameral one, in 1934, at the height of the Progressive revolution, safeguards were put in place to prevent a simple majority from exerting excessive power.Bills proposed in the legislature have to pass three votes which require debate and maybe filibustered. The three votes are the General File (done, 36 to 12), the Select File (pending), and the...

In two decades, Constitutional Carry has progressed from an ideal pursued by Second Amendment activists and Constitutionalists, to a reality in half of the states of the United States. In 2002, only Vermont had Constitutional Carry. Constitutional Carry exists where most citizens can exercise the right to carry a loaded handgun in most public places, openly or concealed, without special government permission or the worry of being arrested.Constitutional Carry was the state of the law when the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791. This was the only “Regulation” that meets the Nation’s historical tradition. Vermont has 1/4 of one percent...

On Monday, March 21, 2022, at about 3 p.m., Indiana Governor Holcomb signed the Constitutional Carry bill, HEA 1296 into law. From Fox59.com: INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has signed House Bill 1296 into law which repeals the law that requires a person to obtain a license to carry a handgun in Indiana. The governor also vetoed a bill that would have barred transgender girls from playing girls’ sports.The law will go into effect on July 1, 2022.Indiana Second Amendment activists have been working hard to pass a Constitutional Carry bill. This year, they overcame several hurdles put in...

Ohio HB227 passed the Ohio House, 60 to 32, on November 23, 2021. Now, less than a month later, on December 15, the Senate passed a very similar bill. SB 215. From cleveland.com: COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Senate could vote as soon as Wednesday on legislation to allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a permit and no longer require them to notify law enforcement during proactively traffic stops that they’re armed.Senate Bill 215 cleared a Senate committee on Tuesday after hours of testimony, mostly in opposition to the measure. The Republican-sponsored bill comes after the Ohio House...

On 16 June, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 1927, the Texas Constitutional Carry bill. Governor Abbott will have a separate signing ceremony on 17 June at 11 p.m. From the texan.news: The governor’s office released a media advisory stating that Abbott would sign HB 1927 and several other pro-Second Amendment bills during a ceremony at the Alamo on Thursday.Constitutional Carry is a reasonable approximation of the state of the law when the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791. At that time, no permit was needed by any state or the federal government, to carry weapons, openly or concealed, in...

The Michigan House passed four bills on Wednesday, June 7th, that effectively would reform Michgan gun law to make Constitutional Carry legal in the state. People who where not prohibited from owning firearms would be able to carry weapons concealed without special government permission. From mlive.com: LANSING, MI -- Michiganders would no longer need a concealed pistol license to carry a concealed pistol under legislation approved by the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday. House bills 4416 through 4419 strike the requirement that a Michigander have a license to carry a concealed weapons. People banned from possessing firearms would...

Governor Chris Sununu has signed SB12, the "permitless" or Constitutional carry bill for New Hampshire in a signing ceremony.  The ceremony was held at 10:30 Eastern time, today, 22 February, 2017. From Governor Sununu's facebook page: Signing #SB12 into law is a commitment I made to the people of New Hampshire. I am proud today to fulfill that commitment. Similar bills were vetoed twice by former Democrat Governor Maggie Hassan.  Hassan left the Governor's mansion to become a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire. The bill passed with solid margins in the Senate, 13-10, and in the House, 200-97. Here...

  map by gun-nuttery.com The Associated Press has long been known  for its anti-Second Amendment attitude.  John Lott exposed there bias in The Bias Against Guns, published in 2003. They have gotten a little better in the last decade, because numerous errors have been exposed.  AP committed another error about gun laws  on February 10th, 2017. In a story about Constitutional or "permitless" carry moving through the New Hampshire legislative process, the AP wrote that the NRA said that concealed carry is legal in 11 states.  From AP via nbcboston.com: The National Rifle Association says concealed carry is legal...

Permitless, or "Constitutional" carry has become an expanding trend in 2016. The number of states that do not require a government permission slip to carry a weapon for self defense, open or concealed, has jumped from seven to eleven. The four states added in 2016 were Idaho, Missouri, Mississippi, and West Virginia. Indiana has always been a good candidate for permitless carry. It was one of the first states to have a shall issue permit. That was because of a judicial ruling on the Indiana Constitution, not legislative action.  From justia.com: In Schubert v. DeBard (1980) Ind. App., 398...

 Image of Andy Gipson from the clarionledger.com In a bill labelled a "Church Protection Act", the Mississippi legislature appears ready to join the permitless or "Constitutional" carry club.  If Governor Bryan signs the bill into law, Mississippi will become the third state this year to join the club, putting its members at 10, or 20 percent of the states. Members of the club can no longer claim any exclusivity.  They range from the East coast to the Pacific, from Alaska to Arizona, with midwest, eastern, and western members.  At 10 members, the club is larger than the dwindling "may issue"...

WEST VIRGINIA (WVVA) West Virginia will soon be among seven other states where residents can carry a concealed weapon without a permit. This comes after West Virginia Lawmakers voted this weekend to override Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's veto on House Bill 4145. The override on Tomblin's veto means that if you're older than 21 and live in West Virginia, permitless concealed carry will be law in 90 days. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin originally veto'd the bill with safety concerns. The West Virginia House and West Virginia Senate both voted to override Tomblin's veto.

The West Virginia legislature did not waste any time in overriding Governor Tomblin's veto of HB 4145, also known as "Constitutional carry" or permitless carry. Governor Tomblin vetoed a similar bill in 2015, but the veto occurred after the legislature had adjourned, making a veto override difficult. This year, the Constitutional carry bill was passed early enough for the legislature to vote on a veto override if necessary. Governor Tomblin received the Constitutional carry bill on 26 February. He waited to the last possible day to veto it, 3 March. The House of Delegates overrode his veto on 4 March,...