Constitutional-Carry

TTAG reader Delmarva Chip posted this Constitutional Carry update in the comments section. How are things in your neck of the woods?

Colorado — passed the Senate, died in the House
Idaho — introduced, no progress
Indiana — introduced, no progress
Kansas — ENACTED AND EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2015
Maine — still in progress, I think
Mississippi — passed the Senate, killed in the House . . .

Montana — VETOED by the governor after having passed the legislature
New Hampshire — passed Senate, in the House
Pennsylvania — introduced, no progress
South Carolina — introduced, basically no progress
South Dakota — passed the House, killed in Senate committee
Tennessee — killed in committee
Texas — introduced, died in committee
Utah — passed Senate, died in the House
West Virginia — VETOED by the governor after having passed the legislature

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63 COMMENTS

    • OMG! There’ll be blood running on the streets, just like near De Soto Kansas yesterday. Yes, 300 armed men and women descended on the place and….and….no one was hurt and all enjoyed the pistol match.

      • Check the National Matches near Port Clinton every summer. THOUSANDS of people, many completely without licenses or government approved training of any kind, most (!) firing the most deadly firearm ever developed, the 1911 .45 acp, several hundred firing at a time, all day long for several days, oh, the humanity! The death toll every year, including children!!!, has been a heartbreaking zero for 100 years or so. Fortunately, the media has managed to keep this quiet while screeching about wild west shootouts and blood in the streets.

  3. Forgot Oklahoma. HJR1009. Passed out of committee but no word on vote on full house floor.

    • I’m upset I had not heard of this one. I guess it got buried under all the anti-gay bills.

  4. The paper the operator is holding out the window should just be the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights. And from what I am given to understand, most LEOs would be gobsmacked at being presented with the actual entire Constitution, as would most Murkan derps. Clueless, stupid, ignorant, etc. Hopeless, in other words.

    Both documents became birdcage liner almost as soon as they were written, with the ink still damp on the parchment anyway. They certainly mean nothing today, neither to our Lords Temporal or the teeming masses, who can barely remember what was on the tee-vee last night.

    We note also that about two-thirds of those states listed are so-called “red” states. So that tells us something, too.

    • I keep a handful of small pamphlets with the constitution and BOR in my glove box. I hand them out to people who don’t have a clue. Just waiting to hand one to a cop.
      of course I may get shot reaching in to the glove box to get one.

      • And you could get shot just for having that bad attitude, citizen.

        I only keep copies in my vehicle for emergency toilet paper.

    • I live in Chicago. The only constitutional thing we get is taxation with corrupt representation.

      I’ve always wondered if that’s the real reason for Chicago politicians always wanting more gun control……afraid of an armed populace and insurrection.

  6. Anybody know about that Mississippi off-body carry biz? That’s a kind of odd one, interested to see how it comes out.

    • It is a baby step towards constitutional carry. Constitutional carry was put forth, but the bill as submitted was worded in such a way that it would contradict itself and be poor law. So the decision was made in the house to shelve it until a more clear and better worded bill (that wouldn’t open people up to legal haranguing) could be put forth in the next session.

  7. Indiana – decided it didn’t fit this session’s “theme”, hope to see it reintroduced every session until it’s passed

  8. Will never happen in California even if Peruta succeeds in his lawsuit. The state needs the money and they will charge for any service they can justify (plus the background check is not cheap).
    Concealed carry will be banned (except for maybe off duty cops) before Constitutional carry is enacted.

    • Hey, it’ll be just like living in New Jersey! No urban open carry (unincorporated areas only) and no CCW.
      But it won’t matter once the water runs out–there won’t be anybody here anyway.

      • I am pro drought! Living in the high desert already, I hope the central valley dries up worse then Fallout New Vegas.

        when the land dries up, nothing left but tech and industry (and prisons). The pot growers will leave, the migrants will migrant somewhere else, the crime will follow everyone else and the money grubbing politicians will leave when there is no tax base. Green Peace will become brown peace and San Francisco will look like Dubai only with less camels.

        A guy can dream yeah?

  9. Texas: did not die in committee. Due to technical problems had to go back to calendars for scheduling (thanks to complaints from democrats) but should return to the floor for a vote soon.

    • That was the “permitted open carry” bill . Someone introduced a constitutional carry bill that died a-borning.

      • Local news said it had passed and was on the way to the Guv. Is this new? Licensed open carry, I mean. In fact, I also saw that on national news.

        • Yes, the “house” version of the open carry (if you have CHL) bill was passed as amended, and had previously passed Senate. I don’t know what the actual amendments were, can’t figure out the Texas Legislature site to see what they were. I also don’t know whether the amended version differs from the Senate version enough to need to go back through, so I don’t know if it really means it is going to the governor yet or not.

          The campus carry bill looks like it’s going to die on the calendar, thanks to the damn Speaker of the House.

          And Another Robert was correct, there was a constitutional carry bill proposed that never made it out of committee.

  10. It really sucks for West Va and Montana getting it through the legislature to be vetoed by those sons of bitches for governors they have. If we could get stuff by the damn rhinos in the Florida legislature, we would be in good shape. Hooray for Kansas.

    • Yeah, I don’t know anything about the governor in Montana, but considering the independent spirit and legendary grit of the people who live there, I am rather shocked they would elect a governor who would veto constitutional carry.

      Truly unpatriotic.

      • I believe the reasoning behind the veto was it would actually restrict a Montana citizens right because without the CHL there would be no reciprocity when traveling through other states. He did not realize that the bill did not eliminate them, just made them obsolete in state.

    • There’s a bonus feature in HB 147 that would also allow for the concealment of long guns without a permit. I haven’t read the full text yet, but from what I’ve seen, it’s a pretty sweet bill and apparently Kasich has said he’ll sign it if the House and Senate pass it.

      The problem is we’ll have to about about 8 months to find out, since the for the last several years in Ohio, every pro-gun bill gets ignored until late December and then voted on right before the end of the year.

      • There’s a bonus feature in HB 147 that would also allow for the concealment of long guns without a permit.

        Thanks for that information. It’s might be in there because a firearm in a motor vehicle (or on in the case of motorcycles and motor scooters) is considered concealed even if it is plain sight. Such a provision could help ease transport requirements for long guns. Of course, I’m just guessing until I get a chance to give it a good read.

        • They’ve done so much cool stuff in Ohio recently. Why can’t they get rid of this absurd provision? I’m just dreading the time some un-CHLed open carrier is car jacked.

        • We can’t even figure out why. lol

          Those of us who open carry and ride motorcycles have been scratching our heads about that since licensing first began. 😉

      • Stuff like this is always nice. 🙂

        (B) The mere carrying or possession of a firearm that is not a restricted firearm pursuant to the right described in division (A) of this section, with or without a concealed handgun license issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or by another state, does not constitute grounds for any law enforcement officer or any agent of the state, a county, a municipal corporation, or a township to conduct any search, seizure, or detention, no matter how temporary in duration, of an otherwise law-abiding person.

  12. WV—legislators promised to pass it immediately next session, meaning a veto won’t matter and it will become law. There are plenty of votes to override the veto, BUT the Legislature must be in session to do so.

    • Glad to hear that. I was saddened to see it get through the legislature with so much support yet get knocked down by the veto.

  13. North Carolina has a genuine PLETHORA of gun bills in both House and Senate this session.

    The House Bill that includes Constitutional Carry is H699. It “Passed First Reading” on 4/15/15 and was referred Committee on Judiciary on the same day.

    So, you can add NC to the list with “Bill Introduced, In Committee” status.

    • Excited to see this, though it’d be nice to see the cost of a permit reduced or done away with entirely. It doesn’t look like that has changed.

      Didn’t give it a thorough read, just skimmed, so please correct me if I’m wrong.

  14. Hmm. I guess it’s ovedue that I send a letter demanding Constitutional Carry to my state senator Dianne Feinstein. Who’s with me?

    • “Hmm. I guess it’s ovedue that I send a letter demanding Constitutional Carry to my state senator Dianne Feinstein. Who’s with me?”

      By any chance did you just get off shift after doing a 30-minute long detailed search of the inside of a tour bus filled with cannabis smoke? 🙂

    • Weeeelll, technically she’s not your state senator and probably can’t do much about CA law.

      Though I wouldn’t mind seeing her try it in the US senate. Not holding my breath.

  16. Wow. The desire for freedom is breaking out all over the place. The politicians that voted against freedom have cleary stated that their time in office is over.

    Now we just need the local voting populace to give them what they have clearly indicated that they want.

    Kick the tyrants out.

  17. Constitutional Carry is still in-process in Maine.

    Over 1/2 of the Senate and House legislators have signed on to it. The Maine State Police is supporting it and Gov. LePage will sign it.

    Still early in the process. The recent hearing in the House went well. However, no votes have been taken yet.

    The out-of-state gun control interests are fighting this tooth and nail, so it is far from a done deal.

    • LD652 was heard with public testimony in overwhelming support in front of the joint criminal justice and public safety committee. The work session where it would have been voted for was set for this past Friday but the bill was temporarily tabled because the bill’s sponsor was unarmed to attend. I don’t think a new date has been set but many have speculated this Friday 4/24. We have seen Bloomberg money start to come in, in opposition. So the above post is correct in that it’s far from over, but it is looking very positive.

      • The bill’s sponsor was unarmed to attend. I just LOVE that terminology, inadvertent as it obviously was. I’d miss a bunch of things if I had to go unarmed, too!

    • Wouldn’t it be nice if the entire northern half of New England was constitutional carry?

      One can hope …

      • At one time, all of New England was. It will be again but will probably take a declaration of some sort and bold action by men and women determined to be free. 😉

  19. PA has a Democrat governor and a Democrat attorney general. No way in hell are we getting Constitutional carry. (the state houses are still predominantly red, so at least Wolf won’t be able to do any more damage)

  20. AZ resident now, so already in force.

    Moved here from NC, have family there, will likely return at some point. Gun laws not terrible (CC by permit, OC unrestricted) but have a few stupid issues (pistol purchase permits left over from the Jim Crowe era, now a cash cow for Sherriff’s Offices). Constitutional carry is introduced in the legislature so often but unfortunately right now the state is purple enough it never gets any serious traction.

    We’ve had some good laws passed there recently though (movie theater, bar, parade carry permitted now with CC permit) so perhaps the future holds good things.

  24. FWIW, I’ve been updating the Wikipedia page on Constitutional carry when I’ve had time – my list was compiled from there. I know I’ve missed a few, so if any of yall are into editing Wikipedia pages, I’d appreciate the help getting that up-to-date.

    Also FYI, if it wasn’t clear, this is only for 2015 legislative sessions.

    It’s a real shame about West Virginia & Montana. In WV, they had PLENTY of support in the legislature and probably could have overridden the veto if they’d had time left in the session. It was passed overwhelmingly in both houses (30-4 and 71-29). Not sure what the timeline was as far as Montana goes.

    Hopefully Maine and New Hampshire will get it done this year. And hopefully some near-misses will be done in a future session.

    • Perhaps next time in WV they’ll pass it early, so the governor can’t just run out the clock on the session.

      (On the other hand, for all I know his deadline to veto or sign is “the end of the session.”)

      • If I understand their law correctly, the WV has 5 days (excluding Sundays) to make a decision on the bill. So if they get it passed early enough, they definitely should have a chance to override the veto.

        I’d be really surprised if any state didn’t have a deadline for the governor to sign or veto – that would mean that the governor effectively has un-overrideable veto power by just waiting until the end of the session.

        • That makes sense, but of course I was being careful not to assume anything.

          The cynic in me makes me wonder if most legislators in fact opposed ConCarry(I avoid the abbreviation CC because it more commonly stands for concealed carry), and voted overwhelmingly for the bill, to satisfy the “hicks” back home, secure in the knowledge that the governor would veto it. In other words, the late passage might be a deliberate ploy.

        • @SteveInCO: I like the term “ConCarry”. It reminds me that when we have true constitutional carry, former felons can legally exercise their right to bear arms. 😉

  25. IDAHO; We actually made some progress. They clarified the law, and you can now carry concealed without a license anywhere that is NOT within an incorporated city. This at least keeps the Fish and Game wardens from citing people for “hunting without a license” when you carry a gun for protection in the boonies. Previously, you had to be “engaged in a lawful outdoor pursuit, such as hunting or fishing”. DFG used that to issued tickets to any armed citizen without a hunting/fishing license or a CWL.

    Of course, the politicians kept their own special legal privilege to carry anywhere in the state without a permit. WE will be going back on this again next year, and will keep hammering away at it.

    • Best of luck to yal. Glad the out-of-city-limits thing got done. Not all the way there, but definitely an improvement.

      And that “special privileges for the elite” stuff is a whole load of BS.

  26. I foresee good things from this trend.

    For those who are new to this issue, you really need to go back into a newspaper morgue and look at the press reactions when Florida passed their “shall issue” CCW law in 1987. The national press went positively ape. The predicted rivers of blood – even supposedly “moderate” commentators on “the gun issue” had their panties in a twist over Florida’s shall-issue law.

    As shall-issue became the rule, rather than the exception, we saw these hysterics die down until only the most idiotic people (usually employed by the NY Times) were still making such predictions.

    Now, with “Constitutional Carry,” we’re going to see the same evolution happen. The majority of the press will be forced to admit that their apocalyptic predictions didn’t come to pass, that citizens are, by and large, law abiding and responsible, that criminals are put off their game by citizens who have the power to end the careers (and lives) of career criminals, etc.

    And the NY Times will be among the last holdouts, clinging to their strings of pearls and never wandering far from their fainting couches.

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