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You have to give West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin credit for Machiavellian use of power.  He cleverly waited until the legislature adjourned, sin die, before vetoing the popular constitutional carry bill.  The bill SB 347, would have removed some of the restrictions on carrying concealed weapons by those who can legally own them.  It passed with overwhelming margins and bipartisan support in both the Senate (32-2) and the House (71-29).  For a non budget bill, such as SB 347, simple majorities would have been enough to override a veto. Which is why the Governor waited until the legislature...

The Kansas House Committee on Federal and State affairs has passed SB 45, the constitutional carry bill, to the full House today, the 18th of March, 2015.  This bill is one of several constitutional carry bills moving in state legislatures around the country.  A similar bill is sitting on Governor Tomblin of West Virginia's desk.  It passed with large veto proof margin in both houses.  From my reading of West Virginia law, we should find out the fate of that bill on Friday. The Kansas bill, SB 45 is about half way home.  According to the chart of how...

SB 347 is a gun law reform bill that removes restrictions on carrying weapons from people who can legally own guns.  It does *not* eliminate the West Virginia concealed carry permit.  It makes the permit optional while in West Virginia.  It has become the focus of national attention, as phone banks paid for with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's money vie with grass roots activists in West Virginia for Governor Tomblin's attention. From wsaz.com: CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A bill that would abolish West Virginia's conceal carry permit law has passed through the House and Senate, and now...

The West Virgina Senate has made short work of confirming the passage of SB 347, also known as the Constitutional Carry bill. The bill was amended in the House to change the minimum age for carrying concealed without a permit from 18 to 21. It passed the House by a 71 to 29 margin, with 51 Republicans and 20 Democrats voting for the bill. Yesterday, 13 March, the Senate confirmed the amended House vote. Observers at opencarry.org predict that Governor Tomblin will allow the bill to become law without his signature: No one expects him to. He's expected to...

The West Virginia Constitutional Carry bill,  SB 347 has now passed the House.  The vote was 71 to 29.  This is a very comfortable, veto proof margin.  The bill was amended in the House to raise the age for concealed, permit-less carry from 18 to 21, on the 11th of March.  On the third read today, the 12th of March, it passed with 71 to 29.  The vote was both bi-partisan and sufficient to override a veto.  51 Republicans and 20 Democrats voted for the bill.   13 Republicans and 16 Democrats voted against it. One of the Republicans  who...

Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke I have been watching the drama in Idaho, as grassroots activists attempt to get constitutional carry passed in the state.  You would think that this would be easy; Idaho is a gun friendly state.  You would be wrong.  While Idaho has done a number of reforms in recent years, the constitutional carry bill is stalled.  The best attempt at understanding what is happening was compiled by Domandred, a contributor on freerepublic.com.  He wrote an essay explaining his view of the situation from inside of Idaho.   From freerepublic.com: Constitutional Carry is currently available in five...

Constitutional Carry is currently available in five States.  Fourteen States have active legislation pending to move the State to a Constitutional Carry model, including Maine, New Hampshire and Colorado.  Idaho’s legislation (HB89) has been blocked and declared dead by an ad-hoc secret committee. This ad-hoc secret committee has no published members, no scheduled meetings, and no public hearings on bills being voted on.  This committee has handles all bills introduced that cover firearms in the State of Idaho.  It is rumored it is a joint House and Senate committee. Idaho’s multiple concealed carry levels Idaho currently has multiple levels of...

Maine may be gearing up to pass constitutional carry.  A young state Senator has introduced a bill to restore the ability to carry concealed weapons without a permit.  He has gathered 96 sponsors for the bill, which is short and easy to understand.  From wmtv.com: Under the present law, it is illegal for gun owners to wear a jacket over their weapon unless they have a special permit.  Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn has submitted a bill that he said he would restore Second Amendment rights. The bill has bipartisan support in the state legislator, with 96 sponsors. Here is...

L Constitutional carry, or permitless carry, has passed the West Virginia Senate with an astonishing 32 to 2 vote.   That means that 14 of the 16 Democrats in the Senate voted for the bill.  The two that voted against it were Sen. Ronald Miller (D) and Senator Corey Palumbo (D).   Perhaps the vote is not that astonishing. After all, this is merely the state of affairs that the country was in for most of its existence, nearly everywhere, before the Civil War, or War Between the States if you prefer.  Even after the war, most states did not criminalize...

Constitutional carry is moving in New Hampshire.  The bill is SB116 in the Senate and HB582 in the House.  It passed the Senate on 12 February.  It was introduced by the Senate Majority leader.  Constitutional carry came within a hair of being passed in 2011.  Many believe that hamhanded tactics by the NRA representative killed the process.  In 2011, it had passed the House, 244 to 109.  Here is the analysis of SB116/HB582: This bill:I. Increases the length of time for which a license to carry a pistol or revolver is valid.II. Allows a person to carry a loaded,...

The Kansas Senate has passed SB 45, the bill that moves Kansas into the constitutional carry status of Arkansas, Arizona, Alaska, Wyoming, and Vermont.  If the bill passes the house and is signed by Governor Brownback, a person who can legally own a firearm and who is 21 or over will be able to carry a firearm concealed without fear of prosecution.   The bill, SB 45 had 26 cosponsors and was introduced by the Majority leader, Terry Bruce, of Hutchinson.  The bill passed with an overwhelming, veto proof, bi-partisan margin of 31 to 7.  The seven members that voted...

Kansas appears on the verge of becoming among the most welcoming states to people who want to pack heat. A bill promising Kansans the ability to carry concealed firearms — without taking safety training or weathering the background checks required in most of the country — won initial approval in the state Senate on Wednesday. The change, expected to pass Thursday to a likely receptive House, would make Kansas a “constitutional carry” state. That would mean citizens would not need a permit to carry a hidden gun. The bill would maintain the current permit process for people who want to...

The questions about whether Arkansas is a constitutional carry state are over.  The result was never in any real doubt.  On April 4th, 2013, the Governor of Arkansas signed Act 746.  The law clarified a definition in Arkansas law, that had been abused over the years.  The change likely returned the law to its original meaning.  I wrote about it on 25 April. I wrote: This change clarifies the meaning of the law to what was likely the original intent; that a person may not carry a weapon with the intent of using it for unlawful purposes. There does...

HB1116, has passed the South Dakota House,  44-23.  While that is an enormous majority, it is short, by one vote, of the 2/3 necessary to override a potential veto by Governor Daugaard. The house has 70 members, 58 of which are Republicans.  In the Senate, there are 27 Republicans and 8 Democrats, a bit tighter ratio.   The Governor, Dennis Daugaard, has been in office since 2011.   Governor Daugaard vetoed a constitutional carry bill in 2012, citing concerns of law enforcement officials.   From the argusleader.com: Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed any resident 18...

The above rally in Boise, on Saturday, 21 February, 2015, was attended by over 200 supporters of H0089.  The bill, which would remove a number of current restrictions on the carry of firearms in Idaho law.   The local media is said to have reported that there were "dozens" That is accurate but misleading.  After all, 300 people are also "dozens" of people.  Common usage is that once 200 items are reached, they are called "hundreds", not "dozens".  From ISSA facebook page: Watched Channel 2 and 7 news tonight. No surprise that coverage was sparse and biased. Good thing we...

An interesting variation on constitutional carry has been introduced in the 2015 Utah legislature.  Constitutional carry, that is, concealed or open carry of a weapon without the requirement to first obtain permission from the government, passed with veto proof majorities in 2013.  It was vetoed by Governor Herbert, and the 2013 legislature did not have the political will to hold an override session.   Now the same legislator,  Curtis Oda, pictured above, has introduced the same bill under a new number.    Utah has a unique requirement in its open carry law.  Open carry is accepted with a peculiar twist: the...

The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance (ISAA) has organized a rally in support of the constitutional carry bill introduced into the House, H0089.  The rally is scheduled to take place on 21 February at 3:30 p.m. at the Capitol in Boise.  From the ISAA facebook page: We will be meeting at the Center on the Grove (850 W Front St) and marching up to the capitol building. Several speakers will give a few brief words on the capitol steps. We will have a table setup at the Center on the Grove where you can buy hats, window decals, and signup...

Idaho has introduced a constitutional carry bill to restore the right to carry a weapon without a permit, along with other reforms.  The constitutional carry portion of the bill is an incremental reform, as legal, non-felon residents of Idaho already have the right to carry weapons openly and concealed without a permit in 99 percent of the state.  The changes include the removal of restrictions on the legal carry of loaded, concealed handguns in vehicles and the ability to carry of concealed weapons without a permit in public places.  The law removes the section that lists all of those...

BOISE -- A new bill introduced in the Statehouse would allow Idaho residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit. But not everyone is on board. No permit needed to carry concealed weapons. That's the proposal. A handful of states have similar laws already on the books. Gun control advocates say the new laws are part of a long-range strategy to weaken gun laws across the country, but supporters say armed, law-abiding citizens prevent crime. The House State Affairs Committee voted Thursday to introduce the bill, dubbed the "Constitutional Carry" bill. It passed along party lines -- with four Democrats...

A constitutional carry reform bill has been introduced in the West Virginia Senate this year, 2015.  SB347 would remove the penalties for carrying a concealed weapon, if the person is not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms.   From legiscan.com:   (a) Any person who carries a concealed deadly weapon without a state license or other lawful authorization established under the provisions of this code, who is prohibited from possessing firearms under section seven of this article shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and may...