Nationwide Concealed Carry Reciprocity on the Horizon admin January 6, 2017 2nd Amendment 387 Richard Hudson, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would allow concealed carry reciprocity for all states with concealed carry laws. This means that anyone legally authorized to carry a concealed weapon in any state, will be able to concealed carry in any other state that recognizes concealed carry rights. Specifically, the bill states: “Notwithstanding any provision of the law of any State or political subdivision thereof (except as provided in subsection (b)) and subject only to the requirements of this section, 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 (other than a machinegun or destructive device) that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, in any State that— ‘‘(1) has a statute under which residents of the State may apply for a license or permit to carry a concealed firearm; or ‘‘(2) does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms by residents of the State for lawful purposes .” Tuesday, January 3rd, marked the first day of the 115th Congress. Hudson’s bill had long been in the making, and he took the earliest opportunity of 2017 to put his legislation before his fellow congressmen and women. Dubbed the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017,” the bill is meticulous in its language, careful to include verbiage for Constitutional Carry states as well, where citizens are not required to have permits for concealed carry (such as Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, and Vermont, among others). Rep. Hudson is a member of President-Elect Trump’s Second Amendment Coalition, a group committed to improving rights for gun owners nationwide. Hudson is optimistic for the future of his legislation: “I look forward to working with my colleagues and the administration to get this legislation across the finish line.”
