NSSF Commends Sen. Cornyn’s Concealed Carry Reciprocity Legislation

Legislation Would End Patchwork of Confusing Gun Law for CC Permit Holders

NEWTOWN, Conn. – The NSSF®, the firearm industry’s trade association, commends U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) introduction of S. 1522, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. The legislation was introduced with 30 original co-sponsors – over 30 percent of the U.S. Senate – to protect law-abiding concealed carry permit holders from being forced to navigate a patchwork of varying gun control laws when crossing state lines.

The bill aims to eliminate the confusion of varying state-by-state laws and provide protection for Second Amendment rights for permit holders. The legislation would allow handgun owners who are legally permitted and authorized by their home state to carry a concealed firearm in other states while complying with the laws of each state – much in the same way a driver’s license is recognized.

“NSSF wholeheartedly supports this long-overdue legislation to answer the problem of the confusing patchwork of laws surrounding concealed carry permits, particularly with regard to states where laws make unwitting criminals out of legal permit holders for a simple mistake of a wrong traffic turn,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This legislation safeguards a state’s right to determine their own laws while protecting the Second Amendment rights of all Americans. Sen. Cornyn’s bold and steady leadership to protect Second Amendment rights and the firearm industry that provides the means to exercise those rights is noteworthy.”

Unlike other rights protected by the U.S. Constitution, the right to keep and bear arms is regulated differently by individual states. While individual rights to speech, religion and protections of Due Process or Search and Seizure are constant, gun rights vary according to the state. Reciprocity agreements exist, but not between all states and are ever-changing. That puts individuals at risk of running afoul of varying state-by-state laws when traveling and crossing borders.