National Concealed Carry Reciprocity – The Legal Brief ~ VIDEO

The Gun Collective
The Gun Collective

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Welcome back to The Legal Brief, the show where we CRUSH the various legal myths and misinformation surrounding various areas of the gun world. I’m your host Adam Kraut and today we are discussing the recently introduced Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 and the previously introduced Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.

As you may have heard, earlier in March, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 was introduced in the Senate. At the beginning of January, a similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives.

While the bills are largely the same, there are a few differences.

National Concealed Carry Reciprocity

Both proposed bills start off in a similar fashion. If you are an individual who is not prohibited from possessing firearms, are carrying a government issued photo ID, have a license or permit issued by a state which allows you to carry a concealed firearm, you may carry a firearm (other than a machinegun or destructive device) in any other state that has a statute which enables an individual to obtain a license or permit and does not prohibit the carrying of firearms by residents for lawful purposes.

However, the Senate bill has a provision that would allow an individual who is from a state which recognizes constitutional carry to carry a firearm in another state absent an actual permit, provided that they are not prohibited and have government issued photo ID. So for those of you who live in constitutional carry states, if this bill were to pass in its current form, you would not need to procure a license from your state for the purposes of reciprocity.

The language between the two bills differs slightly in relation to how the state’s laws would affect an individual carrying a firearm. The Senate version provides that the possession or carrying of a firearm in another state would be subject to the same limitations imposed on residents of that state by either the federal government, the state or a political subdivision thereof. In simpler terms, you’d have to abide by the same rules as the residents of that state, much like now if you travel to a state that recognizes a permit issued by yours.

The House version says that this section should not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of a state which allow a person or entity to restrict possession of firearms on their property or prohibitions imposed by the state with regard to concealed firearms on state or local government property, installations, buildings, bases or parks. In essence, they accomplish similar goals, although it would seem that the House version is a bit more narrowly tailored.

The Senate version has a provision which says that in states which issue different levels of permits that impose restrictions, for the purposes of reciprocity, non residents will be permitted to carry firearms in accordance with the same terms afforded to those who obtain unrestricted permits in those states. In simpler terms, non residents will be able to carry in a less restricted manner than some residents.

Noticeably absent from the Senate version, is language that is found in the House version which creates an affirmative defense to individuals who are detained or arrested for carrying in compliance with the law. In those instances, if the individual presented documentation to show they were carrying in accordance with the law, the burden of proof would switch to the prosecution to show that they were not. If the individual successfully asserts the defense, the court SHALL award attorney’s fees. This provision would hopefully deter states from attempting to prosecute individuals who are carrying in compliance with the proposed law. I’m looking at you Commiefornia, New Yorkistan, New Germany, etc.

The House version also provides a mechanism to sue a state or municipality for the deprivation of right, privilege or immunity provided for in the law including a provision for damages and attorney’s fees. Notice a trend here? The House appears to be attaching a financial incentive for states to not violate people’s rights. I know, a novel concept these days.

Additionally, the House version defines the term handgun to include any magazine for use in a handgun and any ammunition loaded into the handgun or magazine. Lastly, the House bill provides that any person carrying a handgun pursuant to the bill, may do so in units of the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, public land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, land administered and managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, and land administered and managed by the Bureau of Reclamation.

In order for this to become a law, you need to pick up the phone and call your Representatives and Senators. National Reciprocity should be a legislative priority not only for you, but those that represent you. There are links in the description to find out who your Representative and Senators are, as well as a script to utilize when calling.

Some of you may be asking, but Adam, why are you pushing this over constitutional carry? Good question. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. While it may not be the end result we would all like to see, it is a step in the right direction. And steps forward are better than steps backward or no steps at all. As you may have noticed gun control did not happen overnight, nor will restoring those rights.

Hopefully that gives you a better understanding of the proposed National Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill. If you guys liked this episode, you know what to do, hit that like button and share it around with your friends. Have a question you want answered on this show, head over to The Legal Brief section on theguncollective.com. Be sure to check out my website adamkraut.com for more information on my quest to serve YOU on the NRA Board of Directors. Don’t forget to like The Gun Collective on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Full 30, Snap Chat and wherever else you can catch us on social media.

And as always thanks for watching!

Links for this episode:

  • Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 – https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/446/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.+446%22%5D%7D&r=1
  • Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 – https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/38/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22concealed+carry%22%5D%7D&r=2
National Concealed Carry Reciprocity
National Concealed Carry Reciprocity

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Joe

So technically everyone could carry in NJ except NJ residents. What a state

Trevor

But if you are a NJ resident with a non-resident license I believe we could carry I’m hoping it’s a go.

Dave

You have to have a resident permit from NJ if you are a resident of NJ. So a resident of any other state with a resident ccw will be able to carry in NJ and everywhere else that issues permits to their residents.

Short story you need a permit from your home state

John R

As the bill currently reads, can anyone explain how my situation would work? I live in Suffolk County NY. Even after jumping though all their hoops, background checks for a year, interviews, naming countless people to vouch for me etc….. I am only able to obtain a restricted carry to and from the range. A “Sportsmans” permit. I recently applied for several non-resident carry permits. (Utah, Fla and NH soon) So my question is…. As it stands right now, the way I understand it is even if the new federal reciprocity bill of 2017 passes, I would still not be… Read more »

John

yes if passed a Utah resident would be allowed to carry in NY without violating any laws while you a NU resident would be subject to restrictions.
Just so you know currently you can carry in any county in NYS except NYC. It would not be a crime for you to have your firearm on you just a violation of the judges restriction so they could revoke it. I don’t think the law would change that. Funny thing is I thing you could carry in every other state.

JohnR

Thanks for the information. It really is ridiculous. I would obviously be happy for all the people in other states (that have resident carry permits in their home state) that could carry in my home state if the bill passes. However, it’s mind boggling that I would not be able to carry where I live while everyone else could. Not for anything, it took a lot more for me just to get my sportsmans restricted carry here in Suffolk County NY than it did to mail in my applications for unrestricted carry permits I got in other states. It just… Read more »

Joe

We , behind the iron curtain of N.J., are forced to goto Fla, and Utah, for non-resident CCW. How would the senate bill help us

Tim

you would have to be a resident of florida or Utah for this to work as I understand the language of the law. SO become a snowbird.

trev

If it passes then NJ residents would lawfully be allowed to carry following the NJ guidelines (CC vs OC and ammunition type) as long as you have a valid resident of non resident CCW such as one from Florida or you live in a constitutional carry state, have valid ID, and are not a prohibited person. Just remember the only people who can posses HP Ammunitions while they carry in NJ are active LEO, everyone else can only use HP’s for range/target practice. If my interpretation is off on any of the details please feel free to correct me. “anxious… Read more »

Jim S

You cannot fathom how hard Commiefornia is going to work to mess this up. We barely got the ability to carry and it is so restrictive and burdensome to stay legal it is a serious PITA. Make no mistake, they will find ways to severely restrict a non-resident from carrying even if it means taking it away again from its captive subjects.

Frank

Amen! As a person who lives in CA, under protest, I have given up any hope that the liberal, Marxist government in this state will allow this law to rule them. If it is at all possible for them to strangle and limit the implementation of this new law, once passed, to the citizens of CA they will do so with great energy; the energy of the insane on PCP.