Will Concealed Carry Reciprocity Happen Now That Trump Is Back in Office?

Now that President Trump’s second term is up-and-running, everyone is thinking about what the next four years will have in store for America. Naturally, gun owners and 2nd Amendment advocates are wondering what the next four years will mean for gun rights.

There’s no question that the President has introduced a series of sweeping and bold policy proposals, although it also remains far too early in the administration to know which of these proposals will ultimately become policy. Nonetheless, a part of Trump’s proposals concerns expanding gun rights directly, which is precisely why 2nd Amendment advocates and groups are watching so closely. 

Specifically, in February of 2023 (after he had launched his third campaign for the Presidency), Trump introduced a 7-point plan that was aimed to ‘end crime and restore law and order.’ A component of that plan was to enact a nationwide concealed carry reciprocity law. 

What is concealed carry reciprocity? It’s actually quite simple. 

Currently, each state has their own laws regarding concealed carry weapons (CCW) licenses. Some states allow permitless carry (meaning that no license is needed to carry a concealed firearm) while other states require a license to conceal carry a firearm. 

Additionally, some states offer what are called ‘enhanced CCW licenses’ that are recognized by some other states, but not all. Currently, there is no state-issued enhanced CCW license that is accepted by all fifty other states. There are also a select number of states that do not honor CCW licenses from any other state. 

A national CCW reciprocity law would essentially treat CCW licenses as drivers licenses. Just as how drivers licenses are accepted in all fifty states (regardless of which state the license was issued in), President Trump’s proposed CCW reciprocity law would make sure that all states have to legally recognize a CCW license regardless of the state from which it was issued. 

If this policy proposal were to become law, it would mean that you could legally conceal carry a firearm in all fifty states with a license just like how you can legally drive a car in all fifty states with a license as well. 

Why is this so important? The short answer is that it will simplify CCW laws in the United States and will ensure there are little guessing games in regards to whether it is legal for you to conceal carry in different states. 

For example, what if you are a legal resident in one state but go over the border to another state each day to go to work? And now let’s say that you have a concealed carry license in the state in which you are a resident, but that this license is not honored by the state in which you go to work each day. 

Currently, in this scenario you would not be allowed to legally conceal carry a firearm in the state in which you work, but a national reciprocity law would ensure that you can. You won’t need to worry about which states will accept or won’t accept your license either.

The proposed policy has already met stiff resistance from gun violence prevention groups. These groups argue that a reciprocity law will only serve to make America less safe.

While there’s no denying that gun safety is important, it’s hard to see how a national CCW law would be antithetical to gun safety when the measure is only designed to simplify CCW laws and make it easier for law-abiding citizens to conceal carry firearms across state lines to defend themselves. 

Will national CCW reciprocity become law? It’s too early to tell, but there are encouraging signs. Most notably, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act already during President Biden’s term in office, but the measure was killed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, and even if it wasn’t, it’s very unlikely that Biden would have signed the measure into law. 

But now that the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives are all under Republican control, there’s no question that the chances of a national CCW reciprocity bill becoming law have increased substantially. This is especially true since President Trump has publicly and repeatedly pushed for the measure as part of his proposals to reduce crime and restore law-and-order.

Sources:
https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-the-evolution-of-3d-printed-firearms-from-hobbyist-projects-to-ghost-guns-458756
https://www.outdooractive.com/en/contribution/building-a-diy-brick-rocket-stove-a-low-tech-and-high-efficient-heat/308664616/