What do the new Concealed Carry Reciprocity Laws Mean to Me?
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During the past several months as legislation concerning the Concealed Carry Reciprocity act inch their way through the system, there has been a lot of speculation about how this law will affect your second amendment right to bear arms.
If you live in a state that issues permits to both residents and nonresidents you probably won’t notice much difference. If you live in or travel to a state that presently does not recognize concealed carry or has strict rules about who can concealed carry, then you may notice quite a difference.
As this bill will give American citizens the right to carry concealed weapons across state lines, it will remove the ambiguity surrounding where you can take your handgun without fear of being charged.
However, there is a group calling for tougher rules regarding who is permitted to concealed carry. That means making permits harder to get.
Opponents of the bill insist that it will endanger the lives of American citizens and interfere with the state’s right to set the standard. Some regard this legislation as making second amendment rights fairer. Others see it as selling out to the gun lobby groups.
Proponents of the bill say this legislation is as logical as marriage or driver’s licenses. If it is legal in one state then a concealed carry permit ought to be legal in all states. At the present time, they argue, different state laws cause confusion for gun owners who are trying to obey the laws. Proponents contend that the present, spotty laws put gun owners unfairly at risk of arrest, fines, or prosecution.
Critics argue that states are losing a power they have always had. They are being, in essence, forced to “water down” their tighter restrictions. The result will be public safety concerns.
At the present time, concealed carry permit rights are literally all over the map. States like New York and Maryland and California have strict requirements regarding concealed carry permits. Some even require rigid training. In other states, requirements are more relaxed. Twelve states don’t even require permits.
Critics have called the proposed reciprocity law the lowest common denominator.
There’s another issue to be considered. Let’s assume the new Concealed Carry Reciprocity Law goes into effect. That means every state has to accept the concealed carry permit you have from your home state. You are now allowed to carry your weapon across state lines without fear of arrest, fines, having your weapon confiscated.
But, where you may take that gun, how you must store it, how you can travel with it is still subject to the state’s and/or municipality’s rules. So, do the new reciprocity rules mean, for example, that New York City has to allow those armed with handguns to roam the New Year’s Eve crowds at Times Square? No! Where and when it is allowed for residents and nonresidents to concealed carry is still a state, or municipal decision.
What the proposed law does state is that if I have a concealed carry permit issued to me in Pennsylvania, New York state will have to recognize it. But, my permit doesn’t allow me to take that weapon to Times Square unless the rules for where and when I can carry my handgun in New York say so.
