The Senate today will be voting on the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 822). This Act would make it lawful for people who have concealed carry permits to travel between states with their weapons as long as the states are those which allow for concealed weapons. As it stands, state laws vary so widely that it is nearly impossible for a permit holder to account for the law changes as they move from state to state.
The law was introduced by Democratic Senator Heath Shuler from North Carolina and Cliff Stearns, a Republican from Florida. It is, not surprisingly, supported by the National Rifle Association. It has more than 245 co-sponsors according to the Daily Caller.
Currently, if you have a permit in your home state, that permit does not transfer as you travel. This means you can be arrested and potentially charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit simply because you aren’t carrying a permit that’s recognized in that particular state.
Supporters of the bill explain it like having a driver’s license. The law would make your permit transferable in the same way that your driver’s license is considered valid as you drive across states.
Opponents are worried the bill would erode the laws in states where gun control is more tightly ran. “The relatively stringent conceal-and-carry laws of California, Illinois, and New York, for example, would be rendered obsolete,” said the Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The states from which the permits were issued without strict controls would “become the new norm. The state with the most lax laws would establish a lowest common denominator for the nation.”
Currently, 49 states allow some form of concealed carry permits. Illinois and the District of Columbia do not, and therefore would not be affected by the legislation.
Representative Stearns points out that the law would not change state laws, people would still be required to abide by the laws of the state they are in; the only thing that would change is their recognition of another state’s permit. “If you come into a state, you must abide by the state’s restrictions, and so I don’t understand the complaints,” he said.
Though the Constitution allows us to own guns, states reserve the right to control how we own them and who is restricted from gun ownership. What is permissible in one state could be a law violation in another.
Even when states prohibit the same actions, their penalties can vary widely. This is why it’s important when you are charged with a criminal offense that your attorney is familiar with the laws in the state that you are charged.
If you are facing weapons charges, let us put you in touch with a local criminal defense lawyer today.
About David Matson