Concealed carry in the United States

"Concealed weapon" redirects here. For other uses, see Secret weapon.

In the United States, carrying a concealed weapon (CCW, also known as concealed carry) is the legal authorization for private citizens to carry a handgun or other weapons in public in a concealed manner, either on the person or in close proximity to the person. In some states, it is sufficient to be a resident or permanent resident (greencard holder). Under current federal legal precedent, it is constitutional under the Second Amendment for states to have concealed carry licensing that permits concealed carried weapons, or even not to require any permits for concealed carry weapons; for example, any legal gun owner in the state of Vermont may carry concealed weapons with no permitting required. It is likewise constitutional under the Second Amendment for states to have laws that prohibit concealed carried weapons, although only two states have done so. Laws governing concealed carried weapons vary from state to state. Some states restrict concealed carried weapons to a single handgun, whereas others permit multiple handguns or martial arts weapons to be carried.

Various states give different terms for licenses or permits to carry a concealed firearm, such as a Concealed Handgun License/Permit (CHL/CHP), Concealed (Defensive/Deadly) Weapon Permit/License (CDWL/CWP/CWL), Concealed Carry Permit/License (CCP/CCL), License To Carry (Firearms) (LTC/LTCF), Carry of Concealed Deadly Weapon license (CCDW), and similar. Many states that issue licenses to carry a concealed handgun also allow the practice of open carry by the license holder, and another 31 states allow open carry without any license.

Although the current trend towards adopting concealed carry laws has been met with opposition, no state which has adopted a "Shall-Issue" concealed carry law has reversed its decision. As of February 2008, 48 US states allow some form of concealed carry (though nine of them have discretionary "may-issue" policies, a few of these being effectively "no-issue" in practice) and all but six provide for some variant on non-concealed "open-carry". The states of Wisconsin and Illinois, and the District of Columbia do not have any form of concealed-carry licensing; Wisconsin allows for open carry in most situations, while Illinois only allows it in rural areas subject to county restriction.

On March 19, 2009, a federal judge ordered a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of the rule allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry firearms concealed within National Park Service lands within states where their permits are valid, based upon environmental concerns, in response to concerns by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees. On May 22, 2009 President Obama signed a law (HR 627) that will prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from enacting or enforcing any regulations that restrict possession of firearms in National Parks or Wildlife Refuges, as long as the person complies with laws of the state in which the unit is found.

Federal law

Robertson v. Baldwin, 165 U.S. 275 (1897) The Court stated that laws regulating concealed arms did not infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms, and thus were not a violation of the Second Amendment.

State laws

History of Right To Carry laws

In 39 concealed-carry states, issuing officials may not arbitrarily deny a concealed-carry application, a practice known as Florida-style "shall issue". It is so named because Florida gained national attention for adopting this policy in 1987, leading to citizens of other states advocating similar measures, even though this practice had been adopted in Washington state in 1961.

Nine states have "may issue" or "discretionary issue" laws requiring the applicant to demonstrate specific "need". These "may issue" states range from "shall issue" in practice, such as Alabama, Connecticut and Iowa to "at the whim of local officials", such as New York, Massachusetts, and California, (where rural officials more liberally issue permits but urban officials seldom do) to "almost non-issue" in states such as Maryland, New Jersey and Hawaii where, though state law allows for the issuance of permits, officials rarely or never choose to issue them under any circumstances.

Two states, Vermont and Alaska, allow a non-felon, at least 16 or 21 years of age respectively, to conceal-carry without requiring a permit as a fundamental right. Alaskan residents may optionally obtain a permit granting reciprocal carry privileges in certain other states, or to be exempted from the NICS background check. Vermont extends the right to carry without requiring a permit to non-residents as well as to residents, but issues no permits to residents that could function to allow reciprocal concealed carry rights for Vermont residents while in other states.

As of July 2008, two states (Wisconsin and Illinois) and Washington D.C. have no provision for legal concealed-carry. There are currently movements in both of these states to pass concealed-carry laws. Legislation was passed in 2004 and again in 2005 in Wisconsin, but was vetoed by the governor. Conceal and carry bills are introduced every year in Illinois, but usually fail to make it out of committee. Former governor Rod Blagojevich (D-Chicago) had vowed to veto any such legislation that made it to his desk. On March 11, 2008, nearly 2,500 Illinois gun owners marched on the capitol in Springfield, as part of IGOLD (Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day) and demanded a conceal and carry provision and also called for an end to more gun control. On March 23, 2006, the legislature of the state of Kansas (which was formerly no-issue) overrode Governor Kathleen Sebelius's veto and enacted a concealed-carry law that became effective July 1, 2006. The District of Columbia is "no-issue" in accordance with its prior blanket ban on most firearms, including a total ban on ownership and possession of handguns and a requirement that long guns be kept locked or disassembled. The ban on handgun ownership and the requirement for keeping long guns locked and disassembled was overturned in the Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller, but the decision, even though it struck down a ban on carry of concealable weapons, will likely not soon result in legal concealed carry outside the home.

Reciprocity

Reciprocal recognition of concealed-carry privileges and rights vary state-to-state, are negotiated between individual states, and sometimes additionally depend on the residency status of the license holder. While 37 states have reciprocity agreements with at least one other state and several states honor all out-of-state concealed carry permits, some states have special requirements like training courses or safety exams, and therefore do not honor permits from states that do not have such requirements for issue. Some states make exceptions for persons under the minimum age (usually 21) if they are active or honorably-discharged members of the military or a police force (the second of these two is also allowed under Federal law). States that do not have this exemption generally do not recognize any license from states that do; an example of this is the State of Washington's refusal to honor any Texas CHL as Texas has the military exception to age.

Attempts have been made in the United States House of Representatives (H.R. 226) to enact legislation to compel complete reciprocity for concealed-carry licenses, and the United States Senate (S. 388) has introduced similar legislation. However, opponents of national reciprocity have pointed out that this legislation would effectively require states with higher standards of permit issuance (training courses, safety exams, good cause, etc.) to honor permits from states with more liberal issuance policies, and states that do not currently allow concealed handgun carry would be required to allow it (which, as those states have no restrictions other than the total ban, would have no means to restrict concealed carry by out-of-state holders, as even the issuing states do). Most proposed federal reciprocity legislation contains no provisions to prevent someone whose concealed carry permit has been revoked or suspended in one state from obtaining one in another state.

In 2004, the United States Congress enacted the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, 18 U.S. Code 926B and 926C. This federal law allows two classes of persons — the "qualified law enforcement officer" and the "qualified retired law enforcement officer" — to carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of any state or local law to the contrary, with certain exceptions.

Training

Some states require concealed carry applicants to participate in a training course, which includes a classroom at a minimum. Depending on the state, a practical component during which the attendee shoots the weapon for the purpose of demonstrating safety and proficiency, may be required. Such courses are often completed in one to two days. The classroom topics typically include firearm mechanics and terminology, concealed carry legislation and limitations, liability issues, carry methods and safety, home defense, methods for managing and defusing confrontational situations, and practice of gun handling techniques without firing the weapon.

Most required CCW training courses devote a considerable amount of time to liability issues. Even when self-defense is justified there can be serious civil liabilities related to self-defense. For example, if innocent bystanders are hurt or killed there could be both civil and criminal liabilities even if the use of deadly force was completely justified. Some states also technically allow an assailant who is shot by a gun owner to bring civil action. However, a majority of states who allow concealed or open carry forbid suits being brought in such cases, either by barring lawsuits for damages resulting from a criminal act on the part of the plaintiff, or by granting the gun owner immunity from such a civil suit if it is found that he or she was justified in shooting.

Therefore, while state laws vary, generally use of deadly force is recommended as a last resort, when life or limb is endangered, when escape or retreat are foreclosed, and warnings are given but ignored. However, increased passage of "Castle Doctrine" laws allow persons who own firearms and/or carry them concealed to also use them to protect property, and/or to use them without first attempting to retreat.

During the range portion of the course the applicant typically learns and demonstrates safe handling and operation of a firearm and accurate shooting from common self-defense distances. Some states require a certain proficiency to receive a passing grade, whereas other states (e.g., Florida) technically require only a single-shot be fired to demonstrate handgun handling proficiency. Some states (e.g., Florida) recognize the safety and use-of-force training given to military personnel as acceptable. Such states will allow a military ID for active persons or DD214 for legally discharged persons in lieu of formal civilian training certification. Active and retired law enforcement officers are also generally exempt from qualification requirements, due to a federal statute permitting retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons in the United States.

Concealed Weapon legal issues

Legal liability

In some states liability is present where the licensee brandishes the weapon, threatens use, or exacerbates a volatile situation, or when the licensee is carrying while intoxicated. While state laws vary, generally use of deadly force must be a matter of last resort, when life or limb is endangered, when escape or retreat are foreclosed, and warnings are given but ignored.

However, increased passage of "Castle Doctrine" laws allow persons who own firearms and/or carry them concealed to also use them to protect property, and/or to use them without first attempting to retreat.

Even given these relaxed restrictions on use of force, using a handgun must still be a last resort in some jurisdictions; the user must reasonably believe that nothing short of deadly force will protect the life or property at stake in a situation. And even with Castle Doctrine laws in place, civil liabilities for errors that cause harm to another still exist, although civil immunity is provided in the Castle Doctrine laws of some states, e.g., Texas.

Carry in vehicles

Some states allow the concealed carry of a handgun in a vehicle by people who lack a permit to carry concealed. In some states, for instance, Vermont, carry of a loaded firearm in a vehicle is allowed whether in plain sight or concealed. Also note, in Vermont no permit is currently required to carry a firearm, if you can legally purchase a handgun you can carry it concealed. In others, like Texas, the handgun must be concealed, or alternately as in Virginia, it must be plainly visible. In still others, such as Kentucky, the handgun may either be in plain sight or in a vehicle's glove compartment, although carry anywhere else in the vehicle's passenger compartment (including a center console) requires a concealed carry permit. In still others, such as California, Maryland and New Jersey, transport of a gun in a vehicle without a CCW permit is only allowed if the gun is unloaded and secured out of reach of the driver and passengers. Other states, such as Florida, have no restrictions as to the location of a concealed handgun for those without a CCW permit as long as it is "securely encased" (i.e., in a snapped holster, among other options) and that it is not on one's person (i.e., not in the person's manual possession). This does not alter the person's right to concealed carry on one's person outside the car unless one holds a valid CCW permit. In Florida, it is illegal to have a handgun visible and in an unsnapped holster inside a car. On the other hand, for holders of a valid CCW permit in Florida, it is legal to have a weapon concealed on one's person while inside one's private conveyance (vehicle, car, aircraft, or boat), or concealed in one's private conveyance, whether or not a snapped holster is used.

The doctrine of allowing weapons to be kept in a vehicle, especially if kept in a ready state, is often called the "traveler assumption" in states which have it because an officer must assume a person carrying a weapon in their car is transporting it, pre-empting all but probable cause on the part of the officer that the person has or intends to commit a crime. Previously, states such as Texas specified that a person traveling is exempt from the statute, but the definition of "traveling" was not provided statutorily, allowing for varied interpretation by officers and the judiciary.

The traveler assumption is sometimes combined with "Castle Doctrine", which states in general terms that "a man's home is his castle, and he has the right not to be forced to retreat from it, and to defend it with deadly force if such need arises". The combination extends these two rights to a person's vehicle, and also makes it feasible to defend oneself by allowing the availability of a firearm. A person being carjacked perhaps, for example, could be justified under such a combination of laws in using deadly force to repel the attack, and could, to that end, keep a firearm in the vehicle that could be readily used.

The general guideline is that laws regarding concealed carry of firearms in vehicles vary from state to state, and even within some jurisdictions within a given state, for those states in which state laws do not include pre-emption over local ordinances regarding firearms. Additionally, officers may be ignorant of the applicability or enforceability of certain laws and may ticket, summons or arrest a person who is in fact acting lawfully.

Politics

Main article: Gun politics

Laws

Typical policies that are utilized to determine who can legally carry concealed weapons are prohibition of concealed carry, discretionary licensing, non-discretionary licensing, minimum age requirements (e.g., 18 or 21 years), successful completion of an instructor-led course, and marksmanship/handling qualification on a firing range. Less common is unregulated, legal concealed carry such as in Vermont and Alaska.

Some states, such as New York, also ban specific makes and models of pistols, mostly small so-called "saturday night specials" such as the Beretta 950-B, and will not under any circumstances issue a permit for those specific weapons. Other states ban carrying handguns with large capacity magazines. The exact same pistol may be carried with a smaller magazine and the permit holder may have as many "extra" magazines as they desire, however.

Weapon possession, in the context of concealed weapons, is a crime of that circumstance in which a person who is not legally authorized to carry a concealed weapon is found in possession of such a weapon. In the United States, it can also be interpreted as the possession of a firearm by a person legally disqualified from doing so under the Gun Control Act. Depending on state law, it can also apply to concealed carry of otherwise illegal knives such as stilettos, dirks or switchblades.

Even in localities where concealed carrying is permitted, there may be legal restrictions on where a person may carry a concealed weapon unless state law supercedes a business posting that no firearms are allowed. Typical examples include the prohibition of concealed carry in:

• public or private elementary and secondary schools (the Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 contains an exception for individuals carrying under a state-issued permit, but some states that issue permits forbid carry in school buildings and/or on school property),
• establishments that sell alcohol (some ban carry from all such establishments such as retail liquor stores and supermarkets, others from businesses that sell alcohol "by the drink" for on-premises consumption such as restaurants, still others only from businesses falling under the state's definition of a "bar" or "nightclub"),
• government buildings (State Capitol, courthouses, police stations, federal buildings, post offices),
• public accommodations (theaters, concert halls), and/or
• public events (polling places, state fairs, public parks, stadiums and other sporting venues).

Carry of a concealed weapon by a licensed individual where prohibited is also generally referred to as illegal weapon possession.

Lastly, some states regulate which firearms may be concealed by a particular permit holder. Texas, for example, differentiates between semi-automatic and non-semi-automatic firearms, and an "NSA"-class permit holder cannot carry an autoloading handgun (restricting them largely to revolvers). Other restrictions seen in select states include restricting the user to a gun of equal or lesser power than they used when qualifying, or to a specific gun. In most states, though, a CCW permit holder is limited only by what they can conceal while wearing a particular outfit.

"Opt-Out" statutes ("Gun-Free Zones")

Many states (e.g., Minnesota, South Carolina, Texas), in addition to outright bans on concealed carry in some or all of the places mentioned above, allow any business to post a specific sign (language and format vary by state) prohibiting concealed carry, violation of which is grounds for revocation of the offender's concealed carry permit. In Texas for instance, the applicable statute is Section 30.06 of the Texas Penal Code, and requires a sign in contrasting colors, with letters at least 1 inch (25.4 mm) high, with exactly the following text in both English and Spanish, be posted at every entrance to a business prohibiting concealed carry:

"PURSUANT TO SECTION 30.06, PENAL CODE (TRESPASS BY HOLDER OF A LICENSE TO CARRY A CONCEALED HANDGUN) A PERSON LICENSED UNDER SUBCHAPTER H, CHAPTER 411, GOVERNMENT CODE (CONCEALED HANDGUN LAW), MAY NOT ENTER THIS PROPERTY WITH A CONCEALED HANDGUN."

By posting the signs, businesses create areas where it is illegal to carry a concealed handgun similar to schools, hospitals, and public events. In addition to signage, virtually all jurisdictions also allow some form of oral communication by the lawful owner or controller of the property that a person is not welcome and should leave. This notice can be given to anyone for any reason, including due to the carrying of firearms by that person, and refusal to heed such a request to leave constitutes trespassing. Trespass by a person carrying a firearm may or may not have more severe penalties than "simple" trespass, depending on the jurisdiction.

Support

Proponents state a property owner has the right to ban carry of concealed weapons on their property, for any reason or no reason.

In addition, signage can act to limit the liability of the property owner. By posting signs encouraging, discouraging, requiring or prohibiting an action, the business not only influences actions, but largely avails itself of liability by arguing that the harm would not have occurred had the individual responsible heeded the notice.

Legal precedent both supports and refutes this argument depending on the severity and nature of the situation, and on State law governing the posting of such signs and governing liability in general. While some jurisdictions affirm the logic in the above paragraph, other jurisdictions have rejected it, saying instead that by prohibiting guns while not taking all reasonable measures to provide effective substitute security (as evidenced by the failure of existing security to prevent a particular shooting), the owner has placed their guests at an increased risk of harm. Some states are considering bills codifying this logic.

Opposition

"Opt-out" carry prohibition laws have been hotly contested. Opponents claim these statutes are not helpful in reducing criminal carry of firearms, as only lawfully-carrying individuals will disarm when on the property. It is also possibly harmful to otherwise lawfully-carrying individuals, as concealed-carry licensees who do not notice the sign are immediately in violation of a law, with a possible consequence of the revocation of their ability to carry concealed or to others who may decide to leave the firearm locked in their vehicle, perhaps increasing the chance that it will be stolen.

Opponents also point to recent school, mall, church and other public shootings in areas where the owner or State has prohibited concealed carry as evidence that criminals are in fact drawn to posted places, as the population of such a place is likely to be less armed than a place in which concealed carry is allowed.

Grey zones

In some situations, business owners post signs that appear to prohibit guns, but because the signs do not meet State or local law defining the appearance, placement, or verbiage of the sign, the sign does not carry the force of law and a permit holder can legally ignore it.

In Texas, for example, the specifications of a Section 30.06 sign prohibiting concealed carry are clearly defined, and only a sign meeting the specifications carries the force of the section. A sign, for example, that depicts the silhouette of a gun with a red circle and slash (similar to other signs prohibiting an action), that simply says "NO CONCEALED WEAPONS ALLOWED", is too small, has incorrect text, is printed only in English or Spanish and not both languages, or is not placed prominently can technically be ignored as it doesn't fulfill the requirements to ban permit holders from carrying concealed. Many of these points of law have yet to be tested in court, but such is explicitly taught by the state licensed concealed carry instructors.

Conversely, the intent of posting such a sign may only be to discourage entry while carrying by those unfamiliar with the law, which (almost by definition) typically includes only those not licensed to carry concealed handguns. Because a licensee is trained to recognize a valid sign and differentiate it from a nonbinding sign(in some states, Florida for example provides no such training on sign posting, verbage or size regulations), posting an invalid sign for this purpose serves as a form of doublespeak, reassuring patrons who oppose concealed carry while at the same time not actually prohibiting concealed carry.

Civil liberties

It has been argued by some that requiring individuals to have a permit in order to legally carry is unconstitutional. In their December 2004 article "Why Adopt a Vermont-style CCW Law?", the gun rights organization Gun Owners of America argues: "Constitutionally, officials cannot license or register a fundamental right." The article then goes on to cite an example of a United States Supreme Court ruling in regard to the First Amendment: "The Supreme Court held in Lamont v. Postmaster General (1965) that the First Amendment prevents the government from registering purchasers of magazines and newspapers — even if such material is 'communist political propaganda'." Proponents claim carry permits are a positive aspect of firearm ownership as there are lower instances of gun crime among permit holders than other gun owners, and concealed carry permit training courses and proficiency tests validate a sufficient level of competence and knowledge of responsibilities as a gun owner. A known counterargument is the claim that the actual criminals choose not to obtain permits and as such render the permits unnecessary.

Research into the effects of concealed carry laws on crime

Research into the effect of concealed carry laws on the incidence of crime has yielded mixed results. In his book, More Guns, Less Crime, University of Maryland scholar John Lott's analysis of crime report data claims a statistically significant effect of concealed carry laws on crime, with more permissive concealed carry laws correlated with a decrease in overall crime. Lott's conclusions remain controversial. Yale Law Professors John J. Donohue III and Ian Ayres, for example, have claimed that Lott's conclusions were largely the result of a limited data set and that re-running Lott's tests with more complete data yielded none of the results Lott claimed. The National Research Council, the working arm of the National Academy of Sciences, similarly claims to have found "no credible evidence" supporting Lott's thesis.

Regardless of the interpretation of statistics, the trend in the United States has been towards greater permissiveness of concealed carry. In Florida, which introduced the "shall-issue" concealed carry laws used as a model for other states, crimes committed against residents dropped markedly upon the general issuance of concealed-carry licenses. However, one study suggests that in most states with shall-issue laws, there were increases in crime of all types.

Some commentators have cited evidence of increased likelihood of vicitimization of people in Florida driving marked rental cars following the passage of the Florida concealed carry law as further evidence that concealed carry discourages crime. Florida responded to a crime wave against tourists by enacting laws prohibiting the obvious marking of rental cars. In 1991, the Luby's massacre prompted Texas lawmakers to pass a concealed carry law that came into effect in 1995.

Some research comparing various countries' violent crime rates, murder rates, and crimes committed with weapons, have found that legal ownership of guns, including concealed carry guns, generally reduces crime rates.

University of Washington public health professor Brandon Centerwall prepared a study comparing homicide rates between Canada and the U.S., as the two countries are very similar, yet have different handgun ownership rates. He reported "Major differences in the prevalence of handguns have not resulted in differing total criminal homicide rates in Canadian provinces and adjoining US states." In his conclusions he published the following admonition:

"If you are surprised by my findings, so are we. We did not begin this research with any intent to "exonerate" handguns, but there it is – a negative finding, to be sure, but a negative finding is nevertheless a positive contribution. It directs us where NOT to aim public health resources."

Don Kates has observed:

"Scholars engaged in serious criminological research into "gun control" have found themselves forced, often very reluctantly, into four largely negative propositions. First, there is no persuasive evidence that gun ownership causes ordinary, responsible, law abiding adults to murder or engage in any other criminal behavior--though guns can facilitate crime by those who were independently inclined toward it. Second, the value of firearms in defending victims has been greatly underestimated. Third, gun controls are innately very difficult to enforce.

[...]

"Therefore, the fourth conclusion criminological research and analysis forces on scholars is that while controls carefully targeted only at the criminal and irresponsible have a place in crime-reduction strategy, the capacity of any type of gun law to reduce dangerous behavior can never be more than marginal."

Permit issue policies

States and DC	Shall-issue	May-issue	Unrestricted	No-issue	Disputed
Alabama	in practice	N			N
Alaska	N		N
Arizona	N
Arkansas	N
California		N
Colorado	N
Connecticut	N				N
Delaware		N
District of Columbia				N
Florida	N
Georgia	N
Idaho	N
Illinois				N
Indiana	N
Iowa	N				N
Kansas	N
Kentucky	N
Louisiana	N
Maine	N
Maryland		N		in practice
Massachusetts		N
Michigan	N
Minnesota	N
Mississippi	N
Missouri	N
Montana	N
Nebraska	N
Nevada	N
New Hampshire	N
New Jersey		N
New Mexico	N
New York		N
North Carolina	N
North Dakota	N
Ohio	N
Oklahoma	N
Oregon	N
Pennsylvania	N
Rhode Island		N
South Carolina	N
South Dakota	N
Tennessee	N
Texas	N
Utah	N
Vermont			N
Virginia	N
Washington	N
West Virginia	N
Wisconsin				N
Wyoming	N

State laws and policies relating to the issuance of concealed carry permits generally fall into various categories depending on their guidelines. These are typically described as may-issue, shall-issue, no-issue, and unrestricted.

May-issue

A may-issue jurisdiction, within the context of gun law, is one that requires a permit to carry a concealed handgun, and where the granting of such permits is partially at the discretion of local authorities (frequently the sheriff's department or police): the law typically states that a granting authority may issue a permit if various criteria are met. A jurisdiction that is de jure a may-issue region may de facto range anywhere from no-issue to shall-issue.

U.S. states such as California and New York give wide latitude to the county authorities in issuing permits. In California, the usual issuance of the permits ranges from a no-issue policy, such as San Francisco, to an almost shall-issue environment in the rural areas. Iowa has a similar distribution, but unlike California, most counties have lenient policies as most counties are rural. There is a strong movement in Iowa to change the system to shall-issue due to the nature of a county-by-county system. Recently in California a bill was introduced in the state assembly that would, if passed, make California a shall-issue state.

In New York City, a concealed weapons permit is allowed by law, but typically takes a large degree of wealth, political influence, and/or celebrity status to obtain. Examples of current and past New York City permit holders are Charles Schumer, Robert DeNiro, Don Imus, Howard Stern, Ronald Lauder, Edgar Bronfman Sr., Donald Trump, Harvey Keitel, Joan Rivers, Arthur Sulzberger, and Bill Cosby.

In US states such as Connecticut, a local concealed weapons permit for the specific county of residence must first be obtained, which is may-issue depending on the county (permits are generally easier to obtain in rural areas than in urban areas). Once the local permit is obtained, the possessor may then apply for a statewide concealed weapons permit, which is generally shall-issue. Once the state permit is issued, the local permit is superseded and no longer required.

Maryland law contains provisions for citizens to apply for a concealed carry permit, but in reality only those with political or police connections can get one (making it effectively a no-issue state).. While the law does allow for resident private citizens with documented severe threats to their life to obtain a carry permit, it is extremely rare for those requests to be honored.

Alabama is by law a may-issue state, but as of 2006 all Alabama county sheriffs issue permits to almost all qualified applicants, making it shall-issue in practice.

Shall-issue

A shall-issue jurisdiction, within the context of gun law, is one that requires a permit to carry a concealed handgun, but where the granting of such permits is subject only to meeting certain criteria laid out in the law; the granting authority has no discretion in the awarding of the permits. Such laws typically state that a granting authority shall issue a permit if the criteria are met, as opposed to laws where the authority may-issue a permit at their discretion.

Typical permit requirements include residency, minimum age, submitting fingerprints, passing a background check, attending a certified handgun/firearms safety class, participating in a range check/qualification before a certified trainer (for demonstrating safe firearms handling and practical proficiency), and paying the required fee (if any). Minnesota is a classic "shall issue" state.

Requirements also include certification that a person has never been diagnosed with a "mental illness," which include any condition which interferes with "normal life--" including trauma from being victim of prior crimes, or for which the person was diagnosed prior to the passage of the law.

These requirements vary by jurisdiction; for example, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Washington (with well over a million permit holders among them) have no safety certification requirement or range check.

The following are undisputed shall-issue states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Alaska is both a shall-issue and an unrestricted state. Alaska does not require a permit for any law-abiding individual to carry a handgun, either openly or concealed, within the state's borders. However, the state continues to issue permits to any of its residents who meet the state's issuance criteria for reciprocity reasons; Alaska residents can carry, with a permit, while in other states that recognize the Alaska concealed-carry license.

The status of Alabama, Connecticut and Iowa is in some dispute among gun rights activists. The laws of all three states, strictly speaking, would place them in the may-issue category, as permit issue is to some degree discretionary. However, these states are effectively "shall-issue" in practice as agency policies direct the issuing body to approve an applicant who has met statutory requirements.

No-issue

A no-issue jurisdiction, within the context of gun law, is one that does not allow any private citizen to carry a concealed handgun. The term refers to the fact that no concealed carry permits will be issued (or recognized).

As of December 2007 in the United States, Illinois, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia are no-issue jurisdictions. Nebraska and Kansas have passed concealed carry laws which took effect on January 1, 2007; Kansas' concealed carry law was passed by the Kansas Legislature in 2006 over the veto of then-Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Wisconsin, Kansas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nebraska all permit unlicensed open carry, subject to county and municipal restrictions. The District of Columbia was also "no-issue", and until District of Columbia v. Heller, did in fact forbid possession or ownership of a handgun within the District--except those grandfathered in before the 1976 ordinance went into effect. The Supreme Court overturned the D.C. handgun ban via Heller stating that "the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense."

Unrestricted

An unrestricted jurisdiction, in the terminology of firearm laws, is one where no permit is required to carry a concealed handgun.

Currently, among U.S. states, only Alaska and Vermont allow the general public to carry a concealed firearm without a permit.

Alaska is both unrestricted and a shall-issue state as it continues to automatically issue carry permits to all residents who meet that state's issuance criteria; this is done primarily for permitting residents to legally carry in states that recognize permits from Alaska. Additionally, anyone 16 or older may possess a firearm without parental consent.

Vermont is unique in that permits are not required for carry concealed or unconcealed for resident and non-resident alike. Vermont has no statutes concerning concealed carry, nor is there a specific statute that allows it. In the absence of a statute that prohibits it, then it is taken that there is no law against it. Since Vermont does not issue permits, its residents are unable to legally carry concealed in other states that would normally recognize out-of-state permit holders unless they hold some other state's permit. As a way around this situation, such person who wishes to legally carry a concealed firearm in another state can apply for and receive a non-resident permit from a state which issues non-resident permits, with Florida typically being the state of choice because it holds the widest reciprocity when compared to other states that issue non-resident permits. (Missouri holds the widest reciprocity of all the states in the U.S. with the total number of states currently honoring its permit at 35, followed by Florida and Utah at 33; however, Missouri does not issue permits to non-residents, and some states that honor Utah permits do not extend that to also include Utah's non-resident permits.)

Statistics

Some (but not all) states publish statistics indicating how many people acquire permits to carry concealed weapons, and their demographics. Reported permit-holders are predominantly male. For example, while over 60,000 women were licensed in Florida as of June 2007, 85% of permit holders were male in that state. The number of permit-holders has been growing. Michigan, for example, reported more than 40,000 applications in a one year period. Florida has issued over 1.2 million permits since adopting the law, and has had more than 400,000 currently-licensed permit holders as of June 2007.

Distribution by age is generally proportionate to the overall state adult population. In Florida, 26% of permit-holders are in the 21–35 age group, 36% are 36–50, 27% are 51–65, and 11% are over age 65.

The numbers of permit revocations are small. North Carolina reports only 0.2% of their 263,102 holders had their license revoked in the 10 years since they have adopted the law. Florida, which has issued over 1,408,907 permits in twenty one years, has revoked 166 for a "crime after licensure involving a firearm," and fewer than 4,500 permits for any reason. Those statistics concerning Florida revocations amount to 1/100th of a percent.

See also

• Open Carry
• Gun politics
• Gun politics in the US
• Gun laws in the United States (by state)
• Gun-free zone
• Transport Assumption

Further reading

• 1977 John Lott and David Mustard, “Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” Journal of Legal Studies.
• 1998 Dan Black and Daniel Nagin, “Do Right-to-Carry Laws Deter Violent Crime?” Journal of Legal Studies.
• 1998 John Lott, “The Concealed-Handgun Debate.” Journal of Legal Studies.
• 2000 John Lott, More Guns, Less Crime (AEI).
• 2002 John Lott, More Guns, Less Crime, Second Edition (AEI).
• 2003 Ian Ayres and John Donohue, “Shooting Down the ‘More Guns, Less Crime’ Hypothesis, Stanford Law Review.
• 2003 Florenz Plassmann and John Whitley, “Confirming ‘More Guns, Less Crime,” Stanford Law Review.
• 2003 Ayres and Donohue, “The Latest Misfires in Support of the ‘More Guns, Less Crime’ Hypothesis,” Stanford Law Review.
• 2003 John Lott, The Bias against Guns (AEI).

External links

• NRA-ILA guide to gun laws
• United States Concealed Carry Association