U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced a measure on March 5 that would permit lawful gun owners to carry their firearms for self-defense in all 50 states.
Called the National Constitutional Carry Act, the measure would restore the right to carry as the Founding Fathers had intended 250 years ago. This bill would ensure that law-abiding American citizens are able to carry around the country without fear of anti-gun states arbitrarily restricting or criminalizing their chosen self-defense tool.
“The Founders established a national right to keep and bear arms, not to ask for permission from hostile local officials, or risk imprisonment for crossing the wrong state line,” Sen. Lee said in a news release announcing the legislation. “Many states already protect the right to carry without a permit, and it’s time to reaffirm this right for all law-abiding Americans. The National Constitutional Carry Act will establish nationwide permitless carry to keep America safe and her people free.”
“Certain States and localities have enacted gun control laws that are not consistent with the text of the Second Amendment or this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” the measure states. “The criminalization of peaceable, public firearms carry is repugnant to the original meaning of the Second Amendment. Any State or local restriction on the right of United States citizens to keep and bear arms impairs the ability of the Second Amendment to achieve its textually specified purpose, ‘the security of a free State.’’’
Sen. Lee’s measure drew quick support from several gun-rights organizations, including Gun Owners of America (GOA).
“In a time of war, Americans cannot afford to have the right to bear arms delayed by arbitrary state permitting processes,” Erich Pratt, GOA senior vice president, said in a news release. “Public safety is threatened not only by ordinary criminals, but also bad actors working for foreign adversaries, and Americans need to be armed for the security of our free state. That’s why Gun Owners of America is proud to endorse Senator Mike Lee’s National Constitutional Carry Act.”
Pratt added that the measure would recognize lawful gun owners’ rights nationwide.
“Under this GOA-backed legislation, the right to carry a firearm without a government permission slip will be fully restored, and unconstitutional states regulations on firearms, ammunition, and magazine size will be preempted,” he said.
The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) has also thrown its support behind Sen. Lee’s carry bill.
“Senator Mike Lee’s Real Constitutional Carry bill is the only legislation that will restore the right of all law-abiding Americans to carry a firearm in every state without having to beg for government permission,” NAGR said in a statement. “Twenty-nine states already have Constitutional Carry, but this should be law regardless of which state you live in. The Second Amendment is not a second-class right. The National Association for Gun Rights thanks Senator Lee for introducing this bill and urges its swift passage.”