Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is Katherine Zehnder.
Members of North Carolina's congressional delegation recently introduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Act (HR38), spearheaded by Republican US Rep. Richard Hudson, NC-09, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. If passed, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill, which would give concealed carry license holders nationwide reciprocity.
"Our Second Amendment right does not disappear when we cross invisible state lines, and this commonsense legislation guarantees that," said Hudson in a press release.
"The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act will protect law-abiding citizens' rights to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits. I am proud to see such strong and widespread support, and I will not stop fighting to get this legislation signed into law."
This is not the first time Hudson has introduced this legislation. In December 2017, it passed the House with bipartisan support but was not taken up in the Senate. The most recent version of the bill was also co-sponsored by freshman US Rep. Pat Harrigan, NC-10.
"The right to self-defense is fundamental and doesn't stop at a state line," said Harrigan in a press release.
"This legislation dismantles the unnecessary barriers that punish responsible gun owners and ensures no American is forced to leave their constitutional rights at the border of their state. This is about protecting lives and defending the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. This bill is more than just legislation-it's a promise to every law-abiding citizen that their safety and their rights will not be compromised. House Republicans must act to advance this critical measure, and I am hopeful our leadership will bring it to the floor soon so we can deliver on that promise and protect millions of Americans."
On Nov 10, Donald Trump Jr. posted a video to his Instagram account of his father, President-elect Donald Trump, promising to sign concealed carry reciprocity.
"What we're talking about is just requiring states to recognize the permit of another state just like you recognize a driver's license," Hudson told Fox News Digital.
"When I drive to DC from North Carolina across Virginia, I don't stop at the Virginia line and take a driver's test to get another license. The state recognizes that North Carolina license."
"...a person who is not prohibited by Federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping or receiving a firearm, who is carrying a valid identification document containing a photograph of the person, and who is carrying a valid license or permit which is issued pursuant to the law of a State and which permits the person to carry a concealed firearm or is entitled to carry a concealed firearm in the State in which the person resides, may possess or carry a concealed handgun that has been shipped or transported in any State or foreign commerce, in any State that...," reads the legislation.
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HR 38 is supported by Second Amendment advocates, including the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), Gun Owners of America (GOA), the US Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
"Congress has the opportunity to deliver the greatest legislative victory for the gun rights movement in a century, and President Trump has already voiced his support," said Aidan Johnston, GOA director of federal affairs.
"With all 50 states now issuing concealed carry permits, 49 states allowing nonresident carry, and 29 states with permitless or Constitutional Carry, it is simply common sense for Congress to ensure that each state's concealed carry license is valid in every other state. We thank President Trump for his leadership on this issue and urge Congress to swiftly send Rep. Hudson's Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act to the President's desk to be signed."
"This legislation eliminates the confusing patchwork of laws surrounding concealed carry permits that vary from state-to-state, particularly with regard to states where laws make unwitting criminals out of legal permit holders for a simple mistake of a wrong traffic turn," said Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior VP and general counsel.
"It safeguards a state's right to determine their own laws while protecting the Second Amendment rights of all Americans. We thank Rep. Hudson for his leadership on behalf of America's hunters and recreational shooters."
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