National Reciprocity legislation for concealed carry is an idea that has been gaining steam in Congress. Of course there are many liberals who are opposed to the idea even going as far as to argue that it would be a violation of "states rights" to pass this legislation. They cannot make a credible case against concealed carry and since the Supreme Court has ruled that citizens have a second amendment right to “possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation” they don't have much to go on.
This has been recognized by federal courts of appeals as well. In a recent case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidated a law that deprived D.C. residents of an accessible means of bearing arms for self defense.
The district court ruled that D.C.’s comprehensive ban on carrying firearms violated the Second Amendment. D.C. feigned reform by creating a system for concealed-carry licenses that required applicants to show a “good” or “proper” reason for needing to carry. This meant demonstrating a special need for self-protection different than the public at large.
The law was written in such a way that the vast majority of people who wanted to carry were automatically turned down. Almost 80% of applicants for concealed carry were turned down without good reason. Countless others were simply dissuaded from even trying to apply by authorities who would inform them that they would be wasting their money on an application fee that would most likely be turned down.
Two cases that came up simultaneously ended this situation, Wrenn v. D.C. and Grace v. D.C. The lawsuit asked two questions. Does the second amendment extend beyond the home? and Should the second amendment be restricted to just a few select citizens? The court decided that yes the second amendment applies to citizens all of the time and that D.C. is violating people's rights by restricting its exercise to a select few.
Thanks to these landmark cases D.C. now issues permits to any citizens who meet the training and background check requirements. Eight states still have similar laws to the ones that once violated citizen's rights in D.C. That is why we need national reciprocity legislation.
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