WaPo Tries to Stir Up Panic to Reverse Constitutional Carry Momentum

With support for Constitutional Carry gaining momentum in a manner reminiscent of the way concealed carry gained momentum before sweeping the country in the 1990s, The Washington Post (WaPo) has resorted to trying to stir up enough panic to get numerous state legislatures to abandon the idea.

Constitutional Carry is open carry and concealed carry without a permit. It exists in Alaska, Arizona, Montana, Vermont, and Wyoming.

It is currently working its way through state legislatures in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, and West Virginia. Open carry without a permit is legal in these states, and legislators in each argue that allowing open carry with no permit yet requiring a permit for concealed carry is really a way of punishing—or criminalizing—citizens who carry concealed.

Some of the legislators have been even more pointed in their arguments for Constitutional Carry, making it clear that the 2nd Amendment itself is all the justification a citizen should need for carrying a gun openly or concealed.

Breitbart News previously reported that West Virginia Senator Robert Kames (R-Upshur) pointed out that bearing arms “is a United States constitutional right.” He said, “The 2nd Amendment recognizes this inherent right.”

So WaPo is left with no recourse except to warn of the dangers of allowing Americans to exercise this inherent right—the danger of allowing them to bear the arms they keep without infringement. To that end, WaPo warns that Constitutional Carry means Americans will carry guns without checking in with the government first, without going through gun classes, safety courses, or background checks.

In saying these things, WaPo misses the fact that the ultimate purpose of many concealed carry permit classes around the country isn’t to make the citizen a better shot or more adept at drawing and shooting a gun to begin with. Rather, the purpose is to lecture them on state laws regarding lethal use of force, thereby absolving the state of liability in a licensing situation.

But Constitutional Carry is another way to absolve the state of liability—it is perhaps the best way—for it makes responsibility and liability a personal matter once again. At the same time, it gets the government out of the process so residents in Constitutional Carry states can enjoy freedom in all its fullness once more.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.