National Concealed Carry Reciprocity to Receive Full House Vote This Week!

Make sure you contact your lawmakers and tell them to support national concealed carry reciprocity. (Photo: NRA-ILA)

This week, the full House will vote on the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 (H.R. 38).  A lot has been said about what this bill will and won’t include.

To help cut down on the confusion, below is a one sheet published by the bill’s author, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC).  It’s a simple, straightfoward overview.

To contact your lawmakers about H.R. 38, you can follow these NRA-ILA instructions:

Please contact your member of Congress using the Write Your Representatives feature of our website and respectfully urge him or her to vote “yes” on this vital legislation.  You can also call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your representative.

REP. RICHARD HUDSON’S (NC-08) CONCEALED CARRY RECIPROCITY ACT OF 2017

Problem

Your driver’s license works in every state, so why doesn’t your concealed carry permit? Just like your privilege to drive, your Second Amendment right does not disappear when you cross state lines. However, conflicting state codes have created a confusing patchwork of reciprocity agreements for concealed carry permit holders.

Without nationwide reciprocity, a North Carolina resident cannot travel to Delaware without having to reroute their trip to avoid driving through Maryland. In addition, a Pennsylvania resident who is a concealed carry permit holder consistently worries about making a wrong turn, ending up in New York, and breaking the law. Even the most careful and knowledgeable concealed carry permit holders find it difficult to navigate the current maze of state and local concealed carry laws.

Many Americans utilize concealed carry as their Constitutional right to self-defense, and we must guarantee that right is not infringed upon.

Solution

To ensure that our Second Amendment right does not disappear when we cross state lines, Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-08) introduced the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 with strong support by major gun groups. This legislation will:

• Ensure that valid concealed carry permits issued in one state are valid for carrying concealed handguns in other states that recognize their own resident’s right to concealed carry;
• Allow those from constitutional carry states the ability to carry in other states that recognize their own resident’s right to concealed carry;
• Put the burden of proof clearly on the state to show that an individual carrying concealed did not comply with the law, thus protecting law-abiding gun owners from onerous civil suits;
• Provide legal protections against states that violate the intent of this bill, making attorney’s fees and damages available to victorious plaintiffs in civil suits, as well as to defendants who prevail in criminal cases; and
• Allow individuals who are carrying concealed to do so in the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, and on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation.

Each state retains the authority to determine regulations for carrying within their borders, as well as for the carry permits or licenses that are issued under their law.

This legislation prioritizes the rights of law-abiding citizens to concealed carry and the ability to travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes.