Law Enforcement Does Not Want a National Concealed Carry Mandate
Chiefs of police agree: A national concealed carry mandate “threatens officer safety” and “increases the risk of armed encounters.”
11/18/25 UPDATE:
Yesterday, the National Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police—which collectively represent a majority of rank-and-file officers and police executives in the United States—announced strong opposition to H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025. Their full letter is available here. Notable highlights include:
- “[T]he most concerning provision of H.R. 38 is that it prohibits law enforcement officers from making any arrest or detaining a suspect for any violation of state or local law pertaining to the possession, transportation, or carriage of a firearm.”
- “This makes it impossible for an officer to conduct any investigation with respect to ascertaining if the person is in fact compliant with the firearms law in their state of residence.”
- “The inability to confirm whether someone is lawfully carrying a concealed firearm increases the risk of armed encounters and reduces situational awareness for officers in the field.”
- “No officer should be placed at greater risk just because they cannot use common practices—which officers in every jurisdiction are trained to do—when encountering an armed suspect.”
- “[N]o encounter with an armed suspect would be routine or by the book—because this legislation rewrites the book.”
- “This legislation would override these tailored arrangements and strip states of their ability to set and enforce their own standards for concealed carry. Instead of officers being thoroughly trained on their state and local gun safety laws, officers would be expected to interpret and apply laws from all 50 states in real time, without reliable means to verify an individual’s eligibility to carry concealed weapons, especially those from permitless carry states where no physical permit exists.”
- “The bill’s creation of personal liability for officers, combined with its erosion of state and local authorities to regulate firearms and conduct reasonable investigations of armed suspects, threatens officer safety and exposes agencies and officers to costly litigation.”
It’s very clear that a national concealed carry mandate would make America a much more dangerous place. But this isn’t just the opinion of the gun violence prevention movement—law enforcement has long been on the same page.
The last time Congress tried to pass this reckless scheme to invalidate local safety laws, back in 2018, police came out of the woodwork to make their voices heard: 473 law enforcement agencies from 39 states signed a letter to Congress opposing its passage. As the letter stated, “This legislation is a dangerous encroachment on individual state efforts to protect public safety, and it would effectively nullify duly enacted state laws and hamper law enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence.” Woof.
The letter also pointed out the alarming fact that “there is currently no system to verify the validity of concealed carry permits across state lines, which means that law enforcement could not confirm whether an individual is carrying a weapon legally or creating a risk to public safety.”
Louis M. Dekmar, who served as leader of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and was the chief of police in LaGrange, Georgia, said “I strongly oppose the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act because it endangers the public and law enforcement. This legislation would override state laws that determine who is qualified to carry a concealed firearm—laws that take into account the distinctive circumstances and needs in each state. No state should be forced to accept a person carrying a concealed [weapon] that does not meet the standards the state has set for its own citizens. This legislation, if passed, would severely interfere with local law enforcement’s ability to prevent gun violence and safeguard the public.”
Then-Commissioner of Boston’s Police William Evans agreed, “This bill would override state laws determining who is qualified to carry a loaded hidden gun. During traffic stops and other interactions with the public, our officers would have to be familiar with 50 different state’s laws on conceal carry permitting. Given the split-second decisions our officers frequently need to make, this is nearly impossible and can foreseeably lead to violent confrontations. As law enforcement officers across the US, we oppose this dangerous threat to our officers and to public safety.”
The threat of a national concealed carry mandate has gotten even more dangerous since then.
Back in 2018, the last time Congress debated a concealed carry mandate, only 11 states allowed those without training or a permit to carry a concealed gun in public. Since then, 18 other states—including large states like Texas and Florida—have joined the ranks. And nearly all of these states encourage the sale of guns without conducting a background check.
As Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told the Washington Post then, “we should not be forced to accept reciprocity with places where any buffoon who has a pulse gets to carry a gun.” Ironically, Texas has since joined the ranks of states where those dangerous buffoons with a pulse can carry a gun. And if this bill passes, those armed buffoons could be coming to your community.
Sam Dotson, former chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said it best: “Violent criminals would be emboldened by the knowledge that they can hide in plain sight, knowing there is no longer a good way for cops to distinguish between them and lawful gun owners.”
The danger of national permitless carry is obvious to police. The coming debate will reveal whether Republicans listen to police or greedy gun industry CEOs. Voters will be watching.
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