CRS INSIGHT Gun Control: Concealed Carry Legislation in the 115th Congress January 30, 2018 (IN10852) | Related Author William J. Krouse | William J. Krouse, Specialist in Domestic Security and Crime Policy (
[email protected], 7-2225) On December 6, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 (H.R. 38). The term "concealed carry" is commonly used to refer to state laws that allow an individual to carry a weapon—generally a handgun—on one's person in a concealed manner for the purposes of self-defense in public (outside one's home or fixed place of business). Federal law allows certain active-duty and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms interstate, irrespective of some state laws, but they must first be qualified and credentialed by their agencies of employment or from which they retired. For the most part, however, firearms carriage is a matter principally regulated by state law. Typically, there are two basic types of concealed carry laws: (1) "shall issue," meaning permits are generally issued to all eligible applicants; and (2) "may issue," which are more restrictive, meaning authorities enjoy a greater degree of discretion whether to issue permits to individuals. In 1987, concealed carry was generally prohibited in 16 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories. Twenty-six states and two territories had "may issue" laws, and seven had "shall issue" laws. One state—Vermont—allowed "permitless" carry, meaning otherwise firearms-eligible individuals could carry without a permit. Over the past 31 years, state laws have shifted from prohibitive "no issue" or restrictive "may issue" laws to more permissive "shall issue," or more recently, "permitless" laws (see Figure 1).