Moving from defense to offense, pro-gun groups are pushing for an expansion to concealed carry laws.
Currently, many states are what is known as “may issue” states where local officials can withhold CCW permits for any reason.
Tim Schmidt of the U.S. Concealed Carry Association is pushing for the Trump Administration to pressure these states to relax their draconian gun laws.
Schmidt believes that is a right guaranteed by the Constitution and the 2007 Supreme Court Heller case.
He also plans to urge Trump’s Justice Department to target states that make it tough to get a permit or buy a gun and ammunition. “I want the attorney general to go after ‘may-issue’ states,” Schmidt said.
Even without the legal protections in certain states, the number of CCW permit holders continues to climb.
Clik here to view.
Image Credit: Gerald Rich CC by 2.0
John R. Lott Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Research Center that charts concealed carry permits, told the Washington Examiner that they have reached a new record of more than 15 million, well more than the 14.5 million in his last report.
In that report, he said the eight states and the District of Columbia that have “may-issue” rules have handed out 494,547 permits, or about 3.4 percent of the 14.5 million. However, he added, they represent 26.4 percent of the U.S. population.
