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‘Trump Will Fix It’: Concealed Carry Interstate Reciprocity

by Philip Mulivor

Donald Trump made a stunning campaign promise to the nearly 70 million citizens who may now legally carry a concealed handgun (either by permit or state “constitutional carry” law): “I will sign concealed carry reciprocity. Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line.”

The need for interstate reciprocity is acute. As states create and revise reciprocity agreements, an unwieldy patchwork of regulations has made it increasingly difficult for travelers to be certain of their concealed carry rights outside their home state. Entire websites and books are now devoted to deciphering interstate reciprocity laws. Even online reciprocity maps come with a daunting list of exceptions, warnings, and technicalities, and in all cases, the user hopes that the information is based only on current, accurate data.

Interstate travel for tens of millions of concealed carriers has thus become materially compromised. It is often necessary to adjust an itinerary to avoid states that fail to recognize one’s home-state carry rights; this adds an additional layer of complexity and expense to automobile travel. Many people rule out air travel for fear of emergency stops in states that don’t recognize their right to possess a handgun. Not surprisingly, “Many horror stories exist in which the nonresident traveler is arrested on a firearm felony charge for a violation that wouldn’t qualify as [even] a misdemeanor in the traveler’s home state,” notes J. Scott Kappas in his “Traveler’s Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States.”

Recognizing that complex and ever-changing reciprocity laws unreasonably encumber interstate travel for millions of Americans, Congress has attempted to pass reciprocity legislation at least five times. Since its first effort in 2008, the number of citizens who have the right to carry a concealed handgun has increased fivefold. The need for interstate reciprocity is now beyond urgent.

Any forthcoming reciprocity bill must be tempered to withstand challenges both before and after it becomes law. In my view, a concealed carry reciprocity law must satisfy at least four requirements:

full story at https://pjmedia.com/philip-mulivor/2024/11/18/trump-will-fix-it-concealed-carry-interstate-reciprocity-n4934413

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