Kentucky constitutional carry
Courtesy Oleg Volk. blog.olegvolk.net

Kentucky’s Governor Matt Bevin signed constitutional carry into law on Monday. His signature makes Kentucky the 16th state that does not require a license for law-abiding adults to carry concealed.

The change will allow those over 20 years of age, “and otherwise able to lawfully possess a firearm” to carry in the same places that someone with a concealed carry license may carry.  It brings choice to adults in Kentucky about whether or not to carry concealed without a government permission slip.

WKYT has the story.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has signed into law an NRA-backed measure which will allow people to conceal carry without a permit.

Bevin signed Senate Bill 150 into law Monday. It allows Kentuckians 21 and older who can lawfully possess a firearm to be able to conceal it without a permit.

Bill supporters say the bill reinforces Kentuckians’ constitutional rights, while some opponents feat it will only increase gun violence.

The NRA said Kentucky is the 16th state to allow for permitless conceal carry.

The law goes into effect in July.

This addition of Kentucky as the sixteenth constitutional carry state marks a big change from 1996 when gun rights activists fought to enact concealed carry there. Clearly, right-to-carry has worked well in Kentucky, resulting in overwhelming support for permitless carry in the Kentucky legislature.

The new law takes effect on July 1. In the meantime, Kentuckians can practice open carry without a license.

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40 COMMENTS

  4. “Bevin signed Senate Bill 150 into law Monday. It allows Kentuckians 21 and older who can lawfully possess a firearm to be able to conceal it without a permit.”

    Anybody notice the real problem with this?
    Here’s a hint “numbers”

    • Apparently those 18-20 year old’s don’t get to exorcise their rights. Age discrimination? After all they are old enough to pay taxes and get drafted.

      • You do realize that a 20 year old can’t legally buy a pistol, right? Federal law prohibits anyone under 21 from completing a transfer at an FFL. What would be the point in giving a right that can’t legally be exercised under Federal law?

        Sure, somebody could “gift” the under-21 a pistol, but that has risks and issues too. Let’s not let perfect stand in the way of ‘good enough’.

        • In Kentucky, transfers between private parties without government permission is perfectly legal.

    • Wow I think this is probably the first post I saw from you that didn’t have some NRA rant in it.
      Keep it up.

  6. Same cry baby Libitard dimwits crying blood in the streets and of course that will never happen.
    Well 16 good states so far.
    Now at least Im getting some choices where to move to when Florida goes full on Libitard in the next 4 or 5 years.
    Ths state cant take much more Northern polluters.
    We need a border wall here…………..North of Palm Beach County.
    Some place in St Lucie County might help. Close off Alligator Alley and leave the Everglades and the alligators to do their jobs on the left coat of Florida

  8. Not sure 16 beats 12 (and more).

    While constitutional carry is the bright shiny object for gun owners hopeful of restoring lost “gun rights” (anyone got a better term so we don’t have to use lefty verbiage?), the left, gun-grabbers and Dimwitocrats are busy working on a scheme to neuter the effect of the Electoral College, effectively creating a democracy for electing the president.

    Currently, there are 12 states (172 EC votes) pledged to make their EC electors nothing more than rubber stamps for the general election; Electors will be required to vote as a block for which ever presidential candidate get the most popular votes. Such a move effectively amends the constitution without a care for the amendment process.

    The current goal seems to be ensuring Texas and Florida (lifting the vote count to 239) come into the pact. If both states go along, those large blocks of electoral votes could forever prevent a non-Dimwitocrat (or non-leftist) from being elected president. Adding Georgia (former “Red” state trending Blue) would increase the count to 255. NC’s 15 votes are an attractive target; raising the count to 270 (the magic number). The total count of states needed to seal the winning compact would only be 16, of 50.

    Obviously there are legal concerns over the validity of a voluntary pact that subverts the original purpose of the EC. And such a compact could be used in reverse if the voting patterns in the nation begin to favor non-leftists in all or some of the larger vote states.

    At any rate, the immediate threat is to the defenders of the constitution currently seen as “Red states”. Unfortunately, a compact to subvert the EC is not a bright and shiny object, and lack of attention will put us in the proverbial boiling frog scenario.

    As noted before, the attack is not a frontal assault leading to confiscation, but a full court press all along the line to wear down the opposition. Interestingly, the forces attacking the constitution are playing the long game, while the defenders want a quick resolution that puts the matter away for generations. Gun-grabbers are convinced the ground game is a winning strategy. Defenders are placing almost all their bets on the Supreme Court.

    • The ground game is the winning strategy. Over time if they control the Oval Office they’ll change the SCOTUS to rubber stamp whatever the Left wants to do. They know they can’t pull a 1917 in Russia on this country, so they’ll give it a few decades and get there more slowly rather than get destroyed all at once.

      That ground game requires the kind of manipulation I constantly harp on. That’s how they’re winning it and it’s the only way we’ll take that advantage away from them.

      To put this in a boxing analogy we’ve lost a number of rounds already and are celebrating winning 10-8 in the fifth round. That win in the fifth isn’t meaningless but we still have a lot of work to do if we actually want to win the fight. In the context of modern American politics a KO really isn’t possible for either side because that would be a war that, let’s face it, really isn’t going to happen in all likelihood. This one’s going to go to the judges.

  9. Open Carry and Car Carry with any type of firearm was already legal in Kentucky before this, but Kentucky did this right by including Car Carry for concealed weapons also in the bill. One of the most overlook items of constitutional carry movement that has not caught on is car carry. You have to drive with your with weapons and people would like not get in trouble for them being in their vehicles. Most other states will not allow you to Car Carry with any weapon much less a loaded weapon like Kentucky allows. But, constitutional carry in all of these 16 states differ quite a bit from state to state. Seems like they should have coordinated better with similar language in these bills as to have more of a combined weight against the anti-2A groups. They have been busy spreading similar anti-2A bills to all of these Democratic controlled states.

    • Car carry in Kentucky was legal even before concealed carry was passed. The firearm had to be in plain view or in the glove compartment. A few years ago, the glove compartment exemption was expanded to “any factory installed storage” after a doctor got busted with a pistol in the center console of his SUV. The courts said since the law said “glove compartment” it meant glove compartment. So the legislature changed the law to allow all factory compartments.

    • Thank you for including “car carry”. This is an important right, since we are in-carriage for a significant time. In Colorado, one can car-carry, even on Fed-“protected” school grounds, because cars are considered “home”. Not sure how long that will last with the current Socialist legislature.

      The law-abiding would never dream of using their arms in a school, unless perhaps to stop a felon threatening the children. The realists among us recognize that criminals will ignore the law.

  10. And we continue the march to restore rights, as any right enumerated that requires petition to realize, is therefore no right.

  11. I know the atheists don’t like the openly christian Gov Bevin. And that’s ok with me. They can keep voting the way they do on the west and east coasts. Sadly, Civil rights are not important there. This is the home of the Knob Creek Machine Gun shoot. I’m so glad I left california and its racist Mulford Act and the racist progressives who support it.

    “Tea Party Favorite Matt Bevin Wins Surprise Victory in Kentucky Governor’s Race”
    The polls were wrong in Kentucky.
    https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/03/tea-party-favorite-matt-bevin-wins-surpr

  12. Even with this, I’m still worried about his re-election. He is in an ongoing war with the teachers unions in Ky. Kentucky is among the worst in America concerning pension debt. So the left are after him hard, smearing him at every opportunity. And it looks like the teachers are preparing to strike(again).

    He has also had to deal with a far left attorney general, who has spent the past two years campaigning to replace him. Even some right leaning people I know are critical of his performance as governor.

    You simply can not go after these issues, guns, state debt, without it getting nasty. And his willingness to go right at these issues with no regard to re-election chances makes him a real winner in my book.

    Mark Levin thinks he’s presidential material. And I think the left agrees, because they hate this man.

    I have been defending Bevin against some members of my family since his election. Looks like I made a correct decision. And I have no doubt this will boost his re-election chances. Now the people of the gun in Kentucky need to remember, and do their part at the ballet box.

    • “And it looks like the teachers are preparing to strike(again).”

      Probably. Teachers unions are being told what to do across the nation by RedforEd, an openly socialist group that openly uses the teacher’s unions to advance a socialist agenda under the guise of education. They just figure that when their main members show up at things like the Socialist Party’s meetings that no one will notice because it doesn’t get reported much.

      They’ve shown up as major players in Cali, AZ and WV strikes. Even if they’re not openly involved in anything in KY, they’re at least behind the scenes.

  13. Section 1, Part 7 of the Kentucky Constitution states, “The right to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the State, subject to the power of the General Assembly to enact laws to prevent persons from carrying concealed weapons.”

    The United States Supreme Court in Robertson v. Baldwin, District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago all said that concealed carry is not a right. All nine justices who sat on the Court in Heller and McDonald were in agreement that concealed carry is not a right under the Second Amendment or under the Federal Constitution.

    Saying that this is a “Constitutional Carry” law because it legalizes concealed carry makes one a liar or an idiot or both.

    • Tactics and sensibilities change. Concealed carry used to be seen as a dishonorable practice only used by criminals to ambush unsuspecting victims. Honorable men carried their arms openly. Those views are now obsolete and it’s time for legislation to changr to reflect the new reality of carry practices. If you don’t want to see people open carrying, then promote concealed carry.

      • There are indeed far more cowards and Nancy Boys around today than in the past. Accommodating them by legalizing concealed carry makes no more sense than legalizing drunk driving to accommodate alcoholics.

  14. And what about out-of-state visitors who do not have concealed carry licenses? Does this new law in Kentucky shield them from legal entanglements if they carry concealed while visiting in Kentucky?

  16. “Clearly, right-to-carry has worked well in Kentucky, resulting in overwhelming support for permitless carry in the Kentucky legislature.”

    Kentucky has always had permitless open carry. I know seeing armed citizens offends you latecomers to the rights of freemen, but concealed carry is just a sideshow.

  17. well hell do you all have any good dragstrips and or dirt oval tracks in Kentucky, you know asking for a friend

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