Carrying a Gun Isn’t Like Driving a Car

It likes to argue that concealed carry weapons permits should be treated like driver’s licenses, recognized nationwide so that a person with authorization from any state could carry a loaded, concealed handgun in public anywhere in the country. 

While it may sound sensible at first, it’s absolutely not. Contrary to the gun lobby’s argument, concealed carry permits are nothing like driver’s licenses. States recognize each other’s driver’s licenses because the standards across the states are remarkably similar. But the same can’t be said for the concealed carry of guns in public—an issue that states across the country have chosen vastly different approaches to. 

Despite this, Republicans in Congress continue to use this argument to promote so-called “concealed carry reciprocity” bills that would force states to allow such gun carrying. In fact, Republicans have introduced versions of this bill in every session of Congress since 1997. 

This session, in a disgraceful move, they decided to introduce it 14 years to the day after the mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, where Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head. The bill has moved out of a House committee and is expected to move to the floor at some point. But what would it mean if it passes? How would existing gun laws be impacted? Our team dug into the details and laid out the basics below.

There’s no standard approach to the concealed carry of guns in public in the US. Trying to implement one now—especially when the existing regulations vary so much from state to state—is dangerous and ill-advised.

At the urging of the gun lobby, 29 states generally allow anyone to carry a concealed handgun in public without a permit or training. But even within this group of states, there are differing standards. States like Georgia specify that a gun carrier must be eligible for a permit, even if they don’t obtain one. Other states, like Mississippi, let anyone carry. 

These differences mean that the Republicans’ concealed carry reciprocity proposal would have serious consequences in every state. 

In order to better understand those consequences, our attorneys conducted a series of comparisons between state concealed carry laws to identify the areas of discrepancy. What they found was startling. 

To carry a concealed gun in public North Carolina today, residents must obtain a permit, complete a gun safety and training course, be at least 21 years old, and must not have a criminal record. The same is not true for many of its neighboring states, including South Carolina, where no permit is required. 

This bill will be a serious infringement on states’ rights. The differences in standards between states mean that some states unaccustomed to the widespread carrying of concealed firearms would suddenly be faced with an untold number of unqualified people with questionable backgrounds carrying in their states. 

In fact, the Republicans’ concealed carry reciprocity bill would even override the meager but important laws that exist in permitless carry states. In Florida and Georgia, for example, no permit is required, but a person must be 21 years of age or older to carry a concealed firearm in public, while nearby Mississippi allows 18-year-olds to carry. Under this bill, Florida and Georgia would be forced to allow 18-year-olds from Mississippi to carry weapons in their states.

This proposal is reckless and a threat to public safety across the country. If it passes, the strength of your state’s gun laws won’t matter as much as those of your neighboring states. And the weaker of the two state laws would always prevail. 

Because of the weak gun laws in permitless carry states, dangerous, unqualified individuals would be able to carry nationwide, and states would be federally mandated to honor the weak or nonexistent concealed carry standards of other states—making us all less safe. We cannot allow Congress to pass this bill. 

For more state by state comparisons of concealed carry laws, take a look at the following GIFFORDS factsheets: