What is “Constitutional Carry” ?
Constitutional carry is just a fancy way saying you can carry a gun either concealed or in the open without a permit from the government. It’s called “Constitutional” because it is based on the second amendment to the Constitution.
As of April 15, 2016, 11 states and Puerto Rico have constitutional carry including: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho (effective July 1, 2016; residents only), Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming (residents only).
Texas Republican state Rep. Jonathan Stickland has pre-filed HB 375 to strike the state’s framework for a concealed carry permit entirely. This would allow all adults otherwise lawfully able to possess a firearm under federal and Texas laws to carry one concealed without a permit.
“This is meant to restore the constitutional rights of Texans to be able to carry a firearm without being forced to take a government-mandated test and pay a fee,” said Stickland in an interview with a local news station.
In the past twenty years, the number of Texans with permits has increased to 1,017,618. When compared to the state’s population, this is one active permit per about 27 residents.
Earlier in 2016, Texas implemented the open carry of handguns — which has drawn not drawn a significant amount of complaints from the public, even though gun control advocates claimed the opposite would happen.
The NRA’s Cam Edwards, host of Cam and Company, was interviewed on the Blaze and gave his views on what Texas passing constitutional carry means for the rest of the US.
Edwards said that constitutional carry actually prompts people to become more educated about firearms, and seek out their conceal carry licenses.
“Honestly, the number of concealed carry licenses hasn’t really declined dramatically in states that have passed constitutional carry,” said Edwards. “Arizona, for example, actually saw an increase the number of concealed carry holders, even after they passed permitless carry.”
“It’s real common sense,” continued Edwards. “If you’re a gun owner, and you’re carrying a firearm for self defense, you want to be comfortable with that firearm, right? You’re going to seek out the training. You’re going to go to the range. You’re going to educate yourself on how to be safe, and responsible, and competent with that firearm. And you don’t need the government to tell you that you need to do this, you do this because you want to be able to protect yourself if you ever have to.”
Edwards also said that we can expect all the usual sky is falling reactions from the left:
“It’s a lot of the same arguments we’ve been hearing for decades about concealed carry,” responded Edwards. “It’s going to be the wild wild west, and as soon as you allow this you’re going to have shootouts in the streets over parking spaces. You’re going to have the same arguments against campus carry. You’re going to have classroom discussions break out into gun play.”
“It never happens!” he finished.
Indeed, the only time gun play on college campuses seems to happen is when the school is hosting a “gun free zone.” According to FBI statistics, gun-free zones make up some 69% of shootings since 2002. Of those that happened on places where carry was allowed, the shooter was stopped short nearly 30% of the time. This makes carrying a firearm the safe bet for survival.
Here is a link to the interview:
http://content.jwplatform.com/previews/VSdARcUV-utDQs14a
