Constitutional carry
[10] In deciding the case, the Court found that self-defense was a "...central component of the 2nd Amendment" and D.C.'s handgun ban was invalidated.
The Heller case was extended by the Supreme Court in the 2010 decision McDonald v. Chicago, which held that the 2nd and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were "fully incorporated" and thus the right to "...keep and bear arms applies to the states and not 'in a watered-down version' but 'fully applicable'...", and limits state and local governments in enacting laws that restrict this individual and fundamental right to "...keep and bear arms", for self-defense.
As of March 7, 2024[update], Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida (concealed carry only), Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota (concealed carry only), Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee (handguns only), Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming generally allow most law-abiding adults to carry a loaded concealed firearm without a permit.
Certain states may impose additional restrictions on the legal ability to carry without a permit beyond those who are not prohibited from owning a firearm.
On January 9 Florida lawmaker Mike Beltran filed a bill HB 1619 Allowing Open Carry of Firearms without A License.
[22] On April 16, 2010, Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1108 into law (effective July 29, 2010).
On July 8, 2013, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued an opinion stating that Act 746 did not authorize open carry.
This law allows both residents and non-residents 21 years of age and older to carry handguns, long guns, and other weapons including knives, openly or concealed, in public, without a permit.
[34] On March 28, 2016, Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed Senate Bill 1389 into law (effective July 1, 2016).
On April 2, 2019, Idaho Governor Bradley Little signed House Bill 206 into law (effective July 1, 2019) lowering the exception age to carry concealed weapons within city limits from 21 to 18.
[35][36] On March 26, 2020, Idaho Governor Bradley Little signed House Bill 516 into law (effective July 1,2020) which expanded the exception to carry concealed weapons to any U.S. citizen or non-citizen active U.S. military members.
On April 2, the bill was signed by Governor Sam Brownback (effective July 1, 2015), establishing constitutional carry in Kansas.
Open carry without a permit was already legal for residents and non-residents before passage of the bill and is guaranteed by the State Constitution.
[46] On July 8, 2015, Maine Governor Paul LePage signed LD 652 into law (effective October 15, 2015), creating an exception for those over the age of 21 who are not prohibited from possessing firearms to carry a handgun concealed without a permit.
[51] On February 18, 2021, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed HB 102 into law, which allows residents and nonresidents 18 or older to concealed carry a firearm throughout the state without a permit.
HB 102 also removed a number of Montana's "gun-free" zones, which previously prohibited carrying a firearm in select locations throughout the state.
A New Hampshire Supreme Court decision in 2013 clarified that the law did not prohibit carrying a concealed handgun if it is unloaded (no round is chambered).
[71] On March 23, 2017, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed House Bill 1169 (effective August 1, 2017).
[75] On April 12, 2023, Governor Burgum signed HB 1339, which will take effect August 1, 2023, to extend permitless carry to residents of other states.
[80] On March 7, 2024, Governor Henry McMaster signed House Bill 3594 into law allowing both open and concealed carry of weapons without a permit for resident and non-resident adults 18+.
This law immediately takes effect, making South Carolina the 29th state to enact constitutional carry.
On June 16, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the Firearm Carry Act of 2021 into law, which took effect on September 1, 2021.
[88][89] The Act originally decriminalized unlicensed carry for individuals 21 years of age or older; however, the case of Andrews v. McCraw, 623 F.Supp.3d 740 (N.D. Tex.
[104][105] On April 6, 2021, Governor Mark Gordon signed a bill allowing constitutional carry for residents of other states, effective July 1, 2021.
In 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court made a ruling that recognized open carry as a long standing fundamental right, and could only be prohibited by local ordinances in effect prior to July 4, 1985.
However, exceptions are made for Philadelphia as a "City of the First Class," in a vehicle, or during a declared state of emergency unless one has a carry permit.
[citation needed] On May 31, 2019, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that carrying a firearm is not reasonable suspicion to detain someone.
[citation needed] Open carry is generally allowed in Virginia without a permit for people 18 years of age and older.
In 1996, the Fourth District Illinois Appellate Court ruled that an unloaded handgun carried in a purse did not meet the definition of unlawful use of a weapon per se due to being fully enclosed and possessed in conjunction with a FOID card[clarification needed] of an Illinois resident.
[113] Non-residents of Illinois are specifically exempted from the requirement to have a FOID Card while carrying an unloaded firearm enclosed in a case.
