National Carry Reciprocity Is Finally Within Reach

President Trump just said he's working on national right-to-carry reciprocity, and a new op-ed from researcher John Lott backs it up with hard data. Jeff breaks down what national reciprocity would mean for every concealed carry holder in America and why this might be the best chance we've ever had to make it happen.

John Lott Op-Ed

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Transcript

0:14

Welcome to the Live Shoot podcast. I'm Jeff Dowdle, and I've been a licensed firearm dealer for the last 18 years. In this podcast, we talk about all things related to the Second Amendment, anything else going on in the world, sports story, or anything else I find interesting. So welcome, welcome, welcome. Hope everybody's having a good week so far. So today, I want to talk about something that's a lot of us have been waiting for a long time for, and that is the national right to carry reciprocity. Now, it's been floating around in various forms for years, decades even, but lately it's picking up some momentum, and I want to talk through it, what's happening, why it matters, and why it, it could mean... what it could mean for, um, us as gona- gun owners. So let's set the stage. So back on June 23rd President Trump made an appearance at a Mack Truck, uh, facility up in Pennsylvania, and during that appearance, he said, and I quote, "National right to carry, we're working on it." Now, that's pretty straightforward. That's the President of the United States publicly stating that national carry reciprocity is on the table and being actively worked on. It's a big deal Now, we've got additional support coming from a very credible voice, John Lott, who many of you know. I've referenced him, talked about him. Our newsletters had opinions, articles he's written but he is the president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, one of the most respected researchers on firearms and crime statistics in the country. And he wrote an op-ed recently that lends significant additional support to this national right to carry effort, and his argument is rooted in data, not emotion, which is exactly the kind of support that this movement needs. So what is, uh, national right to carry reciprocity? So let's break it down in plain English. Right now, if you have a concealed carry permit in your home state, Texas, that permit may or may not be recognized in other states. It depends entirely on the agreements between those states. Some states have broad reciprocity. They recognize permits for most of all other states. But other states partic- other states, particularly states like New York, California, New Jersey, they don't recognize anybody's permits. So you could be a law-abiding citizen, fully vetted, background check, trained, permit, permitted in your home state, and the moment you cross certain state lines, you're potentially committing a felony just for having your firearm on you. Think about it. So national right to carry reci- reciprocity would change that. That... The concept is simple. If you have a valid concealed per- carry permit from any state, any other state would be required to recognize it, just like your driver's license. You can get a driver's license in Texas, you can drive in California, you can drive in New York. Nobody questions it. National carry reciprocity would apply the same common sense principles to your right to carry a firearm. Now, here's where, uh, John Lott's op-ed comes in and why it's so important. Lott has spent his career studying the relationship between gun ownership, concealed carry, and crime rates, and his research consistently shows that concealed carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding citizens in the entire country. We're talking about people who commit crimes at rates lower than law enforcement officers, lower than the police. That is a f- is a fact backed by data. So when opponents of this legislation try to argue that national reciprocity would lead to more crime or more danger, the data simply doesn't support it. Lott's op-ed makes that case clearly and convincingly. More legal carry does not equal more crime. In fact, the evidence points in the opposite direction. States with broader concealed carry laws tend to see reductions in violent crime, and that makes sense when you think about it. Criminals don't want to encounter armed citizens. It's that simple. So what's that mean for you? Well, if you're someone who travels across st- straight lines, across state lines, whether it's for work or for vacation or family visits, you know how complicated it is right now. You've got to check every state you're passing through. Does the state honor my permit? Can I carry here? Do I need to lock it in the trunk? It's a patchwork mess, and it puts good, law-abiding people at risk of accidentally running afoul of laws that vary widely from one state to the next. National reciprocity would eliminate that confusion. It would mean that your constitutional right to, to bear arms doesn't stop at a state line. And let me be straight with you, that's what it's really about. This isn't just about convenience. It's about a fundamental right. The Second Amendment doesn't say your right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed unless you drive into New Jersey. It doesn't have an asterisk. It doesn't have a geographic limitation, and yet right now, that's exactly how it functions for millions of Americans. Now, are we gonna be challenges? Of course. There are states that are going to fight this tooth and nail, the usual suspects. They ar- they'll argue states' rights, which is ironic coming from people who generally don't care much about states' rights on any other issue. But here's the bottom line. We have a president who has publicly stated he's working on it. We have researchers like John Lott providing the empirical ammunition to back it up. We have the NRA and other organizations pushing hard. The momentum is real. Momentum alone doesn't get bills passed. That's where we come in. We need to stay engaged. Contact your representatives. Let them know that national right to carry reciprocity is important to you. Let them know you're watching how they vote on this, because at the end of the day, elected officials respond to pressure, and if they hear you far enough and loud enough, things can change. I've been an FL FL dealer for 18 years, and I can tell you, this is one of the most ex, uh, potential, uh, significant wins for gun owners I've seen in a while. If national reciprocity passes, it's, uh, fundamental changes the landscape for concealed carry in the United States. It treats your permit the way it should be treated, as a valid, recognized document wherever you go in the United States of America. So stay informed on this one. Follow what's happening in the legislation. Read, uh, Lott's op if you get a chance. I'll put it in the show notes. The data's on our side. Constitution is on our side, and right now the political will appears to be on our side too. So let's not waste this opportunity. So if you find this interesting, subscribe, share it with somebody, give it five stars, get the word out. We have to continue to get the word out about our constitutional rights to bear arms. We need more people paying attention to these things. I appreciate it. I'm Jeff Dowdle. This is the Live to Shoot podcast. Stay informed, stay F- armed, and let's get this done. Let's talk next week