UPDATE 5: Georgia (4/12/22) bill signed, effective immediately.
UPDATE 4: Florida bill is DOA this year. With RINO friends, who needs enemies?
UPDATE 3: Indiana (7/1/22) got on board (gasp, it includes 18 year-olds*) March 21, 2022.
UPDATE 2: Ohio (6/13/22) became the 23rd state Mar 14, 2022
UPDATE: Alabama (1/1/23) became the 22nd state with Constitutional Carry Mar 10, 2022.
The year 2022 sees several states having Constitutional (permitless) Carry (CC) bills introduced in their legislatures. These include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio.
Most Democrats, their media mouthpieces, and an assortment of Rino Republicans can always be counted on to oppose passage of this type of legislation. They have repeatedly used the same old tired arguments that their comrades in other states have used in the past.
They can be counted on to utter something like, “I support the Second Amendment, but . . .”
They can be counted on to add their military service history and/or
their pro-gun-but credentials to their argument:
“I served in the Marine Corps. I’ve shot everything from an M16 to an M2 .50 caliber machine gun and SMAW rocket launcher. I believe guns are important tools, can offer protection, and serve an important role in our recreational and cultural activities. I believe in the Constitutional right to own a firearm . . . My first gun was given to me when I turned 12. I know this culture. I respect it. I am a part of it.” says Alabama State Rep. Neil Rafferty(D) in AL.com.
But Mr. Rafferty fails in the above quote to mention the Constitutional right to carry a firearm. Perhaps he needs to read the Bill of Rights. Yes, the one that states Congress shall pass no law abridging his freedom of speech, or of the press to publish his opinion (Amendment I). Yes, that same Bill of Rights which states that the right to keep and bear shall not be infringed (Amendment II).
I am sure I could search for a few minutes and find similar opposition to Constitutional Carry in the other states where it has been introduced. But for the sake of brevity, I have seen the same old arguments in states where it has been brought up before. As a matter of fact, I saw the same arguments in Tennessee when permitted carry was first introduced. Then, when legislation was proposed to loosen the restrictions on permitted carry, e.g. carrying into a convenience store, carrying into a restaurant that serves alcohol, and carrying into parks; and in 2021, when a (pseudo) Constitutional Carry bill was introduced and passed.
Perhaps the reason these opposers of freedom fight so hard to hang onto the permitting system is their fondness for the good old antebellum days when white men could freely carry weapons, but slaves had to first get a permission slip from their masters.
Perhaps it is just about power; Do they see themselves as our overlords, and as such, resist every effort to share that power? As I wrote in Ammoland,
The problem with many of the elite who are in power these days is that they, like tyrants and petty potentates of old, think power should reside only in the hands of the ruling class.
If unchecked, this always leads to an increasing disparity of power, with this ruling class seizing more and more power from the citizenry.
There are a variety of carry requirements among the states,with some requiring permits, some requiring training, some not requiring training (GA), some allowing permitless open carry (AL, NC), others not; the results are always about the same - -
Peaceable citizens, with rare exceptions, act responsibly when armed, whether permitted or not.
The permitting process is a de-facto infringement on the right to bear arms.
Bad actors with felony convictions or misdemeanor domestic violence offenses often continue to ignore laws and be ongoing bad actors.
Bad actors, all too frequently, ignore gun-free-zone signs, and continue to kill and maim.
Most legislators are accessories-before-the-fact, because they continue to mandate gun-free-zones for peaceable citizens, thus creating killing fields for mass-murderers as we have now seen in Florida.
Renting back our rights (to those of us who can afford it) through the permitting process is just one way of exerting their power. Voters need to show them where the power ultimately resides, and fire them.
*Eighteen year-olds who already have every other civil right under the law. They can go to war, vote, marry, and enter into contracts, etc. Good for them
