Permitless carry is on the march with legislatures in six states weighing the option of abolishing their requirement for a permit for concealed carry.
The six states are Alabama, New Hampshire, Indiana, Kentucky, South Dakota, and Texas.
In Alabama the permitless carry legislation is sponsored by state Senate Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa), in New Hampshire by state Senator Jeb Bradley (R-3), in Indiana by state Representative Jim Lucas (R-Seymour), in Kentucky by state Senator Albert Robinson (R-21), in South Dakota by state Representative Lynne DiSanto (R-35), and in Texas by state Representative Jonathan Stickland (R-92). In every instance the appeal is toward the need to remove restrictions on law-abiding citizens so they can more easily exercise their God-given right to keep and bear arms.
Twelve states currently have permitless carry: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Vermont, Wyoming, and West Virginia. It should be noted that while a permit is still required in certain parts of Arkansas and Montana, the vast portion of both states–99.4 percent–allows concealed carry without a permit.
Four of the 12 states abolished their permit requirement in 2016. Those four are Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, and West Virginia.
It is interesting to note that on January 14, 2017, the Crime Prevention Research Center predicted the U.S. would have “16 or 17” permitless carry states by year’s end. With 12 states already recognizing permitless carry and six more pursuing it, one would think CPRC is in a good position to see their prediction come true.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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