Firearms and Repository: What Does It Mean? What's Changing?

Congress may soon vote on national concealed carry reciprocity.

If passed, the law would require all states to recognize carry permits and, in some cases, permitless carry from every other state.

Here’s what that means under the current legal landscape.

“Concealed carry reciprocity” refers to whether one state recognizes carry permits issued by another. The rules vary widely:

• Some states recognize permits from every state.

• Others only recognize permits from states with similar requirements, such as fingerprinting, background checks, age limits, or live-fire qualifications.

Most reciprocity is not mutual. A state may choose to honor permits from another state without that state honoring theirs.

Twenty-nine states now allow permitless carry for both residents and visitors. In those states, no permit is required to carry concealed as long as the carrier is not legally prohibited from possessing firearms.

But permitless carry does not transfer to states that require a license. A resident of a permitless state who wants to carry in a permit-required state must still obtain a valid permit issued by their home state.

This is why most permitless-carry states still issue permits; gun owners need them for travel.

Concerns about a “race to the bottom” misunderstand how state criminal law works.

If you are carrying in a particular state, that state’s laws apply, regardless of your home state:

• If Michigan bans carry in bars, churches, daycares, and stadiums, then everyone carrying in Michigan, including permit holders from Louisiana, must follow Michigan’s rules.

• A permit only grants recognition of the license itself, not permission to ignore local restrictions.

Firearm acquisition, however, is governed by the buyer’s home state. For example, a Louisiana resident who legally purchased a firearm through a private sale without a background check may travel with it to Michigan, even if Michigan requires checks for its residents. That firearm was acquired under Louisiana law, not Michigan law.

Several bills in Congress, including the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, would require states to recognize any individual who is licensed or otherwise “entitled” to carry in their home state.