“Concealed carry reciprocity” is the latest example of President-elect Donald Trump’s shifting views on state rights.
“I will protect the right of self-defense everywhere it is under siege, and I will sign concealed carry reciprocity. Your Second Amendment right does not end at the state line,” Trump said in a video.
If implemented, this would force states that don’t allow for concealed carry—i.e., carrying a firearm out of public view—to recognize permits from other states. That means a person from Arizona, which does not require a permit for concealed carry, could legally carry a hidden firearm in California, which requires a permit for concealed carry.
At the heart of Trump’s push for concealed-carry reciprocity is the idea that certain rights, like the right to bear arms, are so fundamental to American life that they should supersede state laws. But when it comes to, say, abortion? No, Trump feels very differently. For nearly half a century, abortion was constitutionally protected under Roe v. Wade, but now, due to the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, it’s been left up to the states.
Unlike concealed carry, apparently.
Donald Trump Jr. posted on his Instagram on Sunday, “BOOM! My father just announced full conceal carry reciprocity! The 2nd Amendment will stay and remain protected.”
Trump had no specific gun policy on his campaign website during the election cycle, but announcing this policy before he takes office shows its priority—and that it’s something he didn’t want to inform voters about before they voted. Sneaky.
In June, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared gun violence to be a public health crisis. Mass shootings have become a part of American life, and they vastly exceed those in other developed countries. According to Small Arms Survey, a Switzerland-based research organization, the U.S. has 121 firearms per 100 residents as of 2017. In other words, more guns than people that exist in the country. The U.S. also quadruples other developed countries when it comes to gun homicides per 100,000 people.
Democratic governors are planning to fight the Trump administration’s policies tooth and nail. But it remains to be seen how they’ll manage to keep other state’s gun laws out of their home states. After all, federal law supersedes state law.
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