The ongoing fight between Pennsylvania state representative Frank Burns (D-District 74) and gun rights groups continues. Burns said he only voted against an amendment that would have required the anti-gun Speaker of the House to send House Bill 454, Constitutional Carry of a Firearm, to the floor for a vote. Key opponents claim he used a procedural trick to scuttle permitless carry in the Keystone State.
While acknowledging his 15 years of support for gun rights, the Gun Owners of America announced it is withdrawing its endorsement of Burns. GOA had previously demanded that Burns resign from the House Second Amendment Caucus.
The truth is out there, somewhere. However, constitutional carry was dead the moment it was filed, months before Burns’ vote.
While Republicans won a three-seat majority in the 2024 elections, they wound up with a one-vote deficit in the House.
Had Burns voted with the Republicans on the amendment and the floor vote, the bill very likely would have passed in the Senate – and then everything would end.
Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro has already said he would veto this bill: There’s no way Republicans could marshal a two-thirds supermajority in the Pennsylvania House to override it.
A similar roadblock faces constitutional carry in North Carolina. Democratic Governor Josh Stein has pledged to veto permitless carry in the Tar Heel State.
Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry North Carolina, has passed the Senate, been sent to the House, and has been languishing in the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operation of the House since March 25.
Republicans hold the majority of seats in both chambers. There are enough Republicans in the Senate to easily override a veto, but the GOP comes up nine seats short in the House. Without the firm commitment of nine Democrats, the bill might as well sit in committee until the legislature adjourns on July 31.
All of the low-hanging fruit has been plucked; expanding constitutional carry beyond the 29 states that already have it will be challenging.
The best option is action at the federal level. However, Senate Bill 65, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, introduced with much fanfare by Texas Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary on January 9, where it has stayed ever since.
House Resolution 38, the House version of the same bill, has fared far better. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-9) introduced it on January third and it currently has 183 cosponsors. It was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. On March 25, the committee considered it and sent an amended version for consideration by the full House of Representatives.
If the House approves it, the next stop is the Senate, where the House and Senate versions will need to be reconciled while Senate majority leadership tries to persuade resident RINOs Susan Collins (R?-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R?-AK) to vote with the majority and convince seven Democrats to join in. Otherwise, it will fall to the filibuster.
Making the bold assumption it passes the Senate and is signed by President Trump, SB 65/HR 38 is a very good bill, even if it falls slightly short of nationwide permitless carry, because it will be fun to see the reactions of Kathy Hochul, Phil Murphy, JB Pritzker, and Gavin Newsom, to name a few.
There’s also House Resolution 645, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY-4) on January 23 and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary the same day. Massie’s bill was a moon shot which would have made true permitless carry the law of the land. It would be very unlikely to get unanimous support from even the Republicans.
Constitutional carry and the nationwide acceptance of our right to keep and bear arms are important issues affecting millions of Americans. However, there’s no easy path.
Constitutional carry or even just mandatory permit reciprocity can’t be added to a must-pass budget reconciliation; they aren’t financial issues. This means we have to keep up the pressure. Keep making contact with your representatives and senators: We know it works.
About Bill Cawthon
Bill Cawthon first became a gun owner 55 years ago and has been an active advocate for Americans’ civil liberties for more than a decade. He is the information director for the Second Amendment Society of Texas.
a drivers license, which is a privilege, from any state in America is honored in EVERY other state in America. the RIGHT to keep and bear arms is a Civil right enshrined in the Bill of Rights. so why is a privilege honored and not a civil right? what is wrong with these “people”? didn’t they swear an oath of office as our representatives to uphold and defend the Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights? they don’t vote as we want them or for the rule of law, they vote according to their own desires/feelings. they don’t deserve to… Read more »
When did concealed carry, with or without a permit, become “constitutional carry”? We’ve had four U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the Second Amendment: Heller, McDonald, Bruen, and Rahimi. Heller said that prohibitions on concealed carry do not violate the Second Amendment. McDonald, Bruen, and Rahimi gave pinpoint citations to Heller. Bruen provided a precise citation to Nunn v. State and noted that it was particularly instructive. In a case where Georgia had banned the carrying of most handguns, openly or concealed, the Georgia high court held that the law was constitutional as it applied to the evil practice of concealed… Read more »
Even when republicans win a majority democrats / communists are still in charge. Amazing how that works.
Considering where we came from.
We have made great progress
“However, there’s no easy path.”
There is one. 0NE.
Here we are, once again stuck. We have the most RINOs in office in a long time.
It is not about the politicians. It is about us. Even if we only held minorities in office, we gun owners have the power, through demonstrative carry, to get our rights back. Gun owners just do not want to. Every day that we do not carry and show our weapons, we seal our fate. Our numbers are quite large, but gun owners are satisfied with the way things are now. They are the RINOs. It is not the politicians.
HLB
Constitutional Carry: 0 States
Regardless of what anyone says, there are still zero constitutional carry states because they all have laws dictating who, what, when, where, and how you are “permitted” to carry. Just because our overlords have so graciously determined that we are “allowed” to carry without first paying a bribe and begging their permission doesn’t mean that all the remaining restrictions on carry are suddenly constitutional.
Bill: Not really sure where you got your info on North Carolina, but the Republicans are ONE seat shy of the 72 votes needed to override a gubernatorial veto, not 9 seats as stated. What is necessary is that either one Dem votes for SB 50 for permitless carry (unlikely) or 2 Dems “walk” and don’t vote (far more likely). Moreover, since the NCGA operates a 2-year session, ending in 2026, and SB 50 already passed the Senate, the bill would remain alive after July 31 regardless of whether it got a hearing in the House. That said, today SB… Read more »