Carrying concealed firearms across states is legally sketchy for Wyoming resident, but that could change thanks to legislation President Donald Trump is apparently ready to sign, if it passes Congress.
“Trump has expressed interest in signing” legislation that would extend relatively uniform concealed carry rights to all 50 states, Mark Jones of Buffalo, national director for Gun Owners of America (GOA), told Cowboy State Daily.
House Bill 38, introduced by Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, and Senate Bill 65, introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, could make concealed carry permits issued in any state valid in all 50 states, Jones said.
Or, if the bills passed as now written, they could take things a step farther. “Constitutional carry,” or the right Wyomingites have to carry a firearm without a permit, could be applied in all 50 states.
“There will be a lot of opposition” to that option, Jones said.
Crossing State Lines Complex
Carrying concealed firearms across state lines, especially into more restrictive states such as Colorado, is now a dicey proposition because regulations can vary between states.
For instance, “New York and California typically have not honored permits from elsewhere,” Jones said.
Firearms instructor Bill Tallen of Cody said he supports the principle of concealed carry permits being honored nationwide. But he’s concerned that the current bills might put too much authority in federal hands.
“Pro-2A (Second Amendment) folks generally tend to be supporters of states' rights, and as such should not be happy at federal law dictating the terms of concealed carry to the states,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
Wyoming Gun Regulations Permissive
As a Constitutional carry state, Wyoming is more permissive than most when it comes to carrying guns, but some restrictions still apply.
In general, Wyomingites with clean records are free to carry firearms, either openly or concealed, without a permit.
However, many businesses and institutions such as public schools can also declare their facilities as gun-free zones.
There have been several attempts to repeal Wyoming’s gun-free zones. The latest is House Bill 172, which recently sailed through the Wyoming House.
Wyoming residents may also apply for concealed carry permits, if they wish.
And Wyoming has reciprocity agreements with several other states – meaning that a concealed carry permit issued in one state is valid in the others with reciprocity.
Making reciprocity good in all 50 states would be a huge win for Second Amendment rights, Jones said, so that’s why GOA supports the current Congressional bills.
The unfiltered version of the legislation would mean that people from states with Constitutional carry could enjoy that same right in every other state. In other words, Wyoming residents could carry a concealed firearm in any other state with no permit required, Jones said.
Although GOA supports nationwide Constitutional carry, realistically, the chances of that portion of the bills passing are slim, he added.
But, particularly with Trump in office, nationwide reciprocity for concealed carry permit holders might be achieved, he said.
Jones said he would appreciate being able to carry a concealed firearm in states – such as some along the Pacific Coast – that currently don’t recognize his Wyoming concealed carry rights.
“I would like to take my family over to see the Pacific Ocean and be able take my legally-owned firearm to protect them,” he said.
‘A Nudge From The Feds’
Tallen said there have been previous attempts at nationwide concealed carry reciprocity.
The basic idea of all the states honoring permits is sound. But as he understands the current bills, they’re too heavy-handed toward the states.
“HR 38 strikes me as more complex than need be; and especially as it dictates to the states where the out-of-state citizen is carrying, in many details. Each state's sovereignty should be respected, such that citizens from elsewhere should be carrying under the same rules as their own citizens,” he said.
“That might be unpopular with people travelling from more permissive states to more restrictive ones. But we should be cautious about granting too much authority to the federal government in this. What the feds give, the feds may later take away,” Tallen said.
He added that he likes the bill’s approach to concealed carrying on federal lands.
“What I do like about HR 38 is specifying that an out-of-state permit would grant carry on federal lands. That's within the purview of the feds, and such a law would be binding on all fed agencies,” he said.
A “nudge from the feds” to make concealed carry permits good in all states might be in order, he said, so long as differences in states’ firearms regulations are upheld.
Take The 1911 To Colorado, Leave The Glock At Home
Jones said the bills before Congress would still allow states leeway to craft their own firearms regulations.
The legislation would essentially make a concealed carry permit function like a “driver’s license,” he said.
In other words, a person with a Wyoming driver’s license may legally drive in other states, but must still obey those states’ traffic laws – such as speed limits that might be lower than Wyoming’s.
Likewise, some state firearms regulations would still apply, Jones said.
For example, Wyoming doesn’t have a magazine capacity restriction, whereas some jurisdictions in Colorado limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds.
Some pistols, such as Glocks that have magazines that hold 17 or more rounds, would be legal to carry concealed in Wyoming, but not in parts of Colorado, he said.
So, even if the new legislation is signed into law by Trump, Wyomingites traveling to Colorado might be wise sticking to something like a 1911 pistol, with traditional seven-or-eight-round magazines, Jones said.
“A lot of those municipalities, especially going down I-25 in Colorado, have different regulations,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
