Difference between revisions of "Constitutional carry"

Revision as of 03:29, September 2, 2017

Constitutional carry (sometimes called Vermont carry) is a political and legal term used by gun rights advocates to describe jurisdictions where no license is required for either concealed carry and open carry of weapons. These include firearms, such as handguns (pistols and revolvers) and long guns (rifles and shotguns), knives, and any other form of hand-carried weapons.

The appearance of the word "constitutional" in the phrase refers to the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which sits at the heart of all debate about gun usage in the United States:

In practice, a "constitutional carry" law would be one that allows either the concealed or the open carry of firearms and prohibits police from stopping someone based merely on the fact the person is carrying a firearm.

Constitutional carry means that the carrying on one's person or in/on one's vehicle of firearms, concealed or not, is generally not restricted by the law. A constitutional carry state is a "free state" from a gun law perspective (see "Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms"). However, this should not be confused with the use of "free state" by libertarians who use that phrase to advocate for political migration to achieve political power.

The legal term "constitutional carry" describes the Bill of Rights legal interpretation that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution allows/permits no regulations or restrictions on gun ownership (e.g. "Shall not be infringed", in the Second Amendment). In actual practice, the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller Supreme Court decision undercuts the descriptive power of the phrase "constitutional carry" because the opinion suggests that some state or city-county government controls may be allowed, at least as to certain types of weapons. The decision was limited to the possession of firearms in one's home.

Murder rate

According to the "uniform crime reporting statistics" of the FBI, as reported by the NRA,^[1] handgun murders decreased in Alaska, Arizona, and Wyoming after those states enacted Constitutional Carry laws in 2003, 2010, and 2011, respectively.^[2][3]

States with Constitutional Carry

As of 2017:^[4][5]

• Alaska: June 11, 2003 House Bill 102^[4]

• Arizona: April 16, 2010 Senate Bill 1108.^[4][6]

• Arkansas: April 4, 2013^[4][7][8][9]

• Vermont:^[4] Since the Constitution was first ratified in 1789, Vermont was the only state to permit "Constitutional carry". From 1789 until the 1800s, Constitutional carry was the "law of land". During the 20th century, all states except Vermont had legislated gun control bans on concealed carry. In most states, however, there was an exemption for those citizens with a permit. Vermont has a strictly worded state constitution,[1] and anti-gun liberals have not been able to have any restriction added on the method of how one carries a firearm. For this reason, Constitutional carry is often still referred to as "Vermont carry" among old persons.

• Wyoming (for residents):^[4] March 2, 2011 Governor Matt Mead^[10][11]

• Oklahoma (residents of constitutional carry states)^[12]

• Idaho applies only to handguns and not all deadly weapons^[4][13]

• Kansas^[4]

• Maine^[4]

• Mississippi^[4]

• Missouri^[4]

• Montana^[4]

• New Hampshire^[4]

• North Dakota^[4]

• West Virginia^[4]

See also

• Open-Carry Movement
• Second Amendment

External links

• Constitutional Carry state by state
• Barron, Alex, "Idaho Constitutional Carry bill advances & rally is called#nra #Idaho #2A". Idaho, American Redoubt: Charles Carroll Society. Published February 12, 2015. Accessed February 12, 2015.

References