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Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie announced that he will introduce a bill to protect the Second Amendment by enshrining constitutional carry nationwide.
Several states have passed laws in recent years to eliminate permit requirements for concealed carry, reasoning that government agencies cannot preemptively limit rights inalienably given by God and already enshrined in the Constitution. Massie thus introduced the National Constitutional Carry Act to ensure such rights are guaranteed “throughout the country.”
“I’m fortunate to live in a state where people are free to exercise their right to keep and bear arms without begging the government or paying a fee,” he said in a statement. "Unfortunately not every American enjoys the same right to carry firearms in public because some states and localities infringe upon this right through a variety of criminal, civil, and regulatory penalties.”
The first provision of his bill “prohibits any state or political subdivision from imposing criminal or civil penalties on eligible individuals carrying firearms in public.” The second provision of the bill “invalidates any existing state or local laws, statutes, regulations, or local restrictions that criminalize, penalize, or otherwise dissuade the carrying of firearms in public.”
National Association for Gun Rights director of political affairs Hunter King commended the legislation, observing that progressive concerns about crime and lawlessness emerging in states with constitutional carry laws have not materialized. “Instead crime rates either remain stable or show a decline,” King asserted. “With numerous states affirming citizens’ rights to bear arms without excessive government regulation, it’s about time Congress follows suit.”
One recent study in Ohio indeed revealed that there was a decrease in violent crime in the year after the state passed constitutional carry. Ohio Republican Attorney General David Yost noted that he had launched the study to examine claims from Democratic mayors who blamed persistent violence and criminal activity in their cities on the new constitutional carry law.
The study also revealed that the enactment of the constitutional carry law corresponded with a downward trend in gunshots detected by law enforcement technology.
Louisiana became the most recent state to approve a constitutional carry law this year, while South Carolina approved a law that allows for permitless carry but keeps certain types of legal liability for those who choose to conceal their firearms without a permit.
