A new report from the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) on concealed carry in the U.S. reveals that 46.8 percent of Americans now live in “Constitutional Carry” states—there are 29 of them—where no license or permit is required, while Congress is mulling H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, and anti-gunners are in a panic.
The report was prepared by John R. Lott, CPRC founder and CEO; Carlisle E. Moody, College of William & Mary – Department of Economics and CPRC associate, and Rujun Wang.
In a lengthy article published by The Trace—the pro-gun control news organ backed by anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg—the alarm bells start ringing at the headline: “What Would Concealed Carry Reciprocity Mean for States with Tighter Gun Laws?” At least the article acknowledges, “When it comes to carrying a gun, the laws of the state you’re carrying in apply. That means reciprocity is not a blanket permission slip.”
Of course, this is spelled out in the text of H.R. 38, which may be read here. The pertinent language says this:
“Reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms
“(a) 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 machine gun 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.
“(b) This section shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that—
“(1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or
“(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, or base.”
While the CPRC report notes that licensed concealed carry declined 2.7 percent from the 2024 data, there are still an estimated 20.88 million active permits/licenses across the country, a figure which does not mean the practice of carrying defensive sidearms has diminished.
As CPRC’s Lott puts it in the report, “A major factor behind this ongoing decrease is the widespread adoption of Constitutional Carry laws… Unlike gun ownership surveys that may be affected by people’s unwillingness to answer personal questions, concealed handgun permit data is the only really ‘hard data’ that we have, but it becomes a less accurate measure as more states become Constitutional Carry states.”
Translation: It is at best difficult to estimate the number of legally-armed citizens in the 29 Constitutional Carry states, and the figure could be in the hundreds of thousands, and maybe even more.
However, as fully explained in the legislation above, The Trace article seems deliberately confusing when it states, “As written, the bill appears to go beyond mandating that states honor other states’ permits. It would also effectively create nationwide permitless carry for people whose home states have such laws on the books.”
Not according to the bill, which stipulates reciprocity applies to a person “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…”
The CPRC report highlights several important findings:
- 7.8% of American adults have permits. Outside of the restrictive states of California and New York, about 9.3% of adults have a permit.
- In 15 states, more than 10% of adults have permits. Utah has slipped below the 10% mark this year. Indiana has the highest permit rate at 22.7%, followed by Colorado at 19.0% and Pennsylvania at 16.2%.
- Five states now have over 1 million permit holders: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Florida is the top states with 2.38 million permits.
- Twenty-nine states have adopted Constitutional Carry for their entire state, meaning that a permit is no longer required. Because of these Constitutional Carry states, the concealed carry permits number does not paint a full picture of how many people are legally carrying across the nation. Many residents still choose to obtain permits so that they can carry in other states that have reciprocity agreements, but while permits are increasing in the non-Constitutional Carry states, they fell in the Constitutional Carry ones even though more people are clearly carrying in those states.
- A survey CPRC conducted with McLaughlin & Associates in 2023 found that 15.6% of general election voters carry concealed handguns.
- In 2025, women made up 28.5% of permit holders in the 14 states that provide data by gender. Seven states had data from 2012 to 2024/2025, and permit numbers grew 106.1% faster for women than for men.
There is one other fact the CPRC report highlights, and it is one which even some gun control advocates stubbornly acknowledge.
“Concealed handgun permit holders are extremely law-abiding,” CPRC says. “In Florida and Texas, permit holders are convicted of firearms related violations at one-twelfth of the rate at which police officers are convicted.”
Lastly, The Trace story falls back on one of the most tired, yet relentless arguments put forth by the gun prohibition lobby, which compares a concealed carry license to getting a driver’s license: “With drivers licenses, you have to take a vision test and a written test, and then you have to pass a proficiency test” that requires actually driving a vehicle, she said. But concealed carry permit requirements vary widely from state to state, with most not requiring live-fire training.”
Driving is considered a privilege, which can be regulated by state traffic laws. It’s asn apples versus oranges argument, and the gun control crowd knows it.
Bearing arms is a constitutionally-protected right, a fact which gun control proponents seem determined to ignore, and want the general public to forget.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s officially-launched “Second Amendment Section “ in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division appears geared toward reminding anti-gunners about the differences between rights and privileges.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
Considering the subject of govt. recognition of a right, I’d argue that the more pertinent stat is how many states have constitutional carry as opposed to how many live there. ‘Sides, saying “almost 60%” sounds more impressive than 46.8%.
law should say as that the constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms all US citizens that are not prohibited people may carry concealed anywhere that would have been allowed at time of ratification of constitution
Poor boomers, they focus on anti-gunners, like that means anything.
Jews own the politicians, they are the ones trying disarm whites.