Is the ramped-up opposition to the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025 from Gun Control, Inc. a good thing? Could the anti-gun zealots read of the room indicate we may see progress on national reciprocity this time around?
Of note, the bill now with 189 Republican co-sponsors, up from the original 119, has passed a committee vote in the House of Representatives and could be placed on the calendar at any time. The President has said he would sign the bill if passed by Congress.
If you haven’t read the bill yet, take a minute and do it now. It’s short. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/38
For those of you paying attention to the activities of Gun Control Inc, you’ve probably noticed an uptick in ads, so-called “research”, reports and opposition to HR 38. Most bear the same false claims they parade out with every constitutional carry proposal in the states. They claim it would be the “wild, wild west” and “blood would flow in the streets” and call it “criminal carry”. They are calling this version a “race to the bottom” that eliminates their highly restrictive state-imposed licensing.
Let’s keep in mind what actually happens when states have implemented constitutional carry, violent crime has gone down.
There are now 29 states where constitutional carry – carrying a concealed firearm without a state issued permit – is now legal. The last 13 being brought in since the current (as of 01/19/24) anti-gun administration began. That’s more than half the states in the country where 46.8% of Americans (157.6 million) now live in constitutional carry states, with 67.7% of the land in the country (2.57 million square miles).
Interestingly enough, the number of concealed carry permit holders, 21.5 million, has gone down as the number of constitutional carry states increased. The reason is understandable as people who once were required to get a government issued permit no longer need to, saving the time, administrative hassle and costs associated with obtaining and keeping a permit valid. Those who do obtain one generally do so for additional benefits such as expanded carry zones, reciprocity with other states and no duty to inform on interactions with law enforcement.
In addition to the ad blitz, Gun Control, Inc. has gotten the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police to come out against HR 38, arguing that it could place officers in both legal and physical danger. This is of course unsurprising since these organizations are controlled by the agency heads of the largest law enforcement departments, appointed by the most liberal/anti-gun city councils in the country. In other words, politicians with badges. Taking their recommendations on safety for the general public comes with a large, and sad, grain of salt.
What do the rank-and-file officers say? According to a recent law enforcement survey of working officers more than 91 percent of respondents support the concealed carry of firearms by civilians who have not been convicted of a felony and/or not been deemed psychologically/medically incapable. A full 86 percent feel that casualties would have been reduced or avoided in recent tragedies like Newtown and Aurora if a legally armed citizen was present (casualties reduced: 80 percent; avoided altogether: 60 percent).
Let’s not forget there is already one conceal carry permit in the form of LEOSA (Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act). However, this applies only to qualified current, retired and separated law enforcement officials. It has also been summarily ignored by several anti-gun states even though the federal law has precedence over the state law. Properly credentialed LEOSA officers have been arrested and had firearms confiscated but released in the morning without charges. It’s the old cop saying, “you can’t take back a night in jail”. This harassment of law enforcement officers carrying under federal law may preview how some states will treat those carrying under a new national reciprocity act.
One of the objections noted by the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police was the potential HR 38 could pierce law enforcement’s qualified immunity. Based on the way the anti-gun states treat officers from other states, you can see why the provision is in the bill.
So why not get a concealed carry permit in the other states? Well, thanks to the diligent efforts of Second Amendment supporters, non-permissive states have been forced to offer their coveted concealed carry permits to out-of-state applicants. This in addition to being forced to offer them to their own in-state applicants. However, it’s not without considerable cost or burden. Non-permissive states have dragged out applications and approvals for months past their statutory limits with no recourse for correction other than the courts.
One individual I am aware of has spent over $10k for him and his wife to be able to carry in 46 states plus D.C., with four more states to go. Is this the kind of access a constitutionally protected natural right should have? How many people could afford the time and money to chase this around the country? Concealed carry permitting, and now especially out-of-state permitting dramatically discriminates against those who cannot afford the time and cost of their licensing schemes.
So, what will happen with HR 38? With only 189 co-sponsors and the Republican to Democrat split in the House of Representatives at 220 to 213, this bill could potentially pass IF the majority stuck together, an unlikely proposition. The prospects in the Senate are much less appealing. With a 53 to 47 Republican majority, there are not enough to get to the 60 votes necessary to pass it as the Democrat side would never allow it.
The anti-gun side is pushing hard to stop this. We need to be pushing back even harder.
This means it’s up to us to let our federal representatives in the House and Senate know our support for these bills. This is especially true for those of us, like me, with RINO representation. They represent US, and we need to remind them of that.
Bob
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