Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC-8) is readying national reciprocity legislation he plans to present to fellow lawmakers and get to Donald Trump’s desk as quickly as possible during the new Congress.
Hudson’s national reciprocity bill will treat concealed carry permits like driver’s licenses, making the permit from any one state valid in the other 49 states.
His office sent Breitbart News a copy of the legislation, which states:
[This bill] amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, and who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person’s photograph and a valid permit issued by any state to carry a concealed firearm, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any other state that permits residents to carry a concealed firearm, in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Makes presentation of facially valid documents prima facie evidence that the individual has a license or permit as required.
Concealed carry was as a consistent topic in Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency. Following the heinous attacks in gun-free zones in San Bernardino and Orlando he stressed that armed law-abiding citizens could have made a difference; they could have lessened the number of fatalities or stopped the attack altogether. Following the November 13, 2015, attack in Paris–where gun-free zones are ubiquitous–Trump suggested criminals need to be reminded that “bullets go both ways.”
But having concealed carriers in more places is difficult when a patchwork of laws honor a citizen’s Second Amendment rights in one state but not in another. Trump condemned this scenario via a September 2015 policy position paper which said:
The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state. If we can do that for driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.
Representative Hudson heard Trump loud and clear and is ready to push the legislation that recognizes the right to carry nationally. Hudson’s bill will also contain language that recognizes permitless carry laws where they exist. This means residents from a state where no permit is required to exercise Second Amendment rights will be able to carry concealed in every state without a permit. They would just need government-issued identification proving they are in fact a resident of a permitless carry state.
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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