Conceal Carry

Marines Firearm Policy Updated to Allow Concealed Carry for Self-Defense

USMC firearm policy has been updated to allow off-duty Marine Corps Law Enforcement professionals to carry concealed “privately owned firearms” while on base for self-defense. The change comes after the December 4, 2019, firearm-based attack at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and the December 6, 2019, firearm-based attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola. U.S. military personnel who were present during the shootings were defenseless due to gun-free policies that bar concealed carry on bases and installations for self-defense. Breitbart News reported witnesses of the Pensacola attack noted the attacker had 10 minutes without armed resistance in which to carry out his horrific work. On December 9, 2019, Breitbart News reported that installation commanders prevent troops from being armed on base for self-defense. Decision-making authority for on-base concealed carry shifted from the Secretary of Defense to installation commanders via Amendment S. 1536 in 2015, which passed as part of the “National Defense Authorization Act of 2016.” Yet installation commanders by-and-large stuck with the same gun-free policies. A USMC memo on concealed carry changes that by authorizing “active Marine Corps Law Enforcement (LE) professionals who possess valid Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act (LEOSA) 18 U.S.C. §926B credentials to carry concealed privately owned firearms (POF) aboard Marine Corps property in the United States and U.S. territories for personal protection not in the performance of official duties.” Although the USMC memo sets limitations as to where off-duty Marine LE professionals can carry for self-defense, this policy is a clear step forward in the effort to eliminate the soft-target attraction of military installations.

To be clear…  This only applies to Marine Law Enforcement (LE) officials.  But, kudos to the USMC for taking this baby step.  Hopefully the other services will follow suit and then expand to allow for all active duty, and reserve members of our armed forces be allowed to conceal carry while on military installations both domestically and abroad.  The current policy that forbids it is spectacularly stupid.

Permitless gun carry in Oklahoma takes effect

A “constitutional carry” gun law in Oklahoma took effect Friday. Also known as permitless carry, the law lets some Oklahomans carry a firearm in public without a license. Most Oklahomans 21 and older can now carry concealed or unconcealed firearms without having gone through a background check or training requirements, with exceptions for those illegally in the country or who have been convicted of certain crimes. Firearms are still prohibited in public buildings, bars, casinos and schools, and at professional sporting events. Oklahoma’s Supreme Court and a county judge this week rejected Oklahoma City Democratic Rep. Jason Lowe’s requests to hold off on the law. Lowe had introduced a petition in August following the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. The petition would have stopped the law from taking effect and made it a 2020 ballot question, had it been successful. The Oklahoma Second Amendment Association filed a protest against the petition that rendered its signatures invalid. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the bill into law in February. “As I traveled all over the state to all 77 counties, I heard from Oklahomans all over that they wanted us to protect their right to bear arms,” Stitt said at the time. There are at least 14 states that have some version of a permitless carry law, according to the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Some other states that do this include, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Wyoming, Missouri, Alaska, Kansas, and North Dakota.  Congrats to the great state of Oklahoma for enacting this constitutionally-sound law, and joining these other states that are strong supporters of our Second Amendment rights!  Our founders would be proud!    🙂

Best states for concealed carry — ranked worst to first

Concealed carry regulations vary widely across the country. Guns & Ammo magazine looked at the most up-to-date laws in each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, and ranked the states from worst to first. Criteria included ease of acquiring a concealed carry permit, costs associated with licensure, training hours required and reciprocity with other states. Click here to see the ranking.

Of course D.C. is at the bottom of the pile, and the People’s Republic of California is second from the bottom.  No surprises there.  But, Vermont beat out Texas in this survey.  So, I’d take this with a BIG grain of salt.  That said, click on the above to see where your state ranks, and why.

Interest in concealed carry permit training jumps 100 per cent after Parkland: ‘We’ve never seen a spike this big before’

The number of Americans interested in obtaining concealed carry permits to secretly bear arms in public has jumped dramatically since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February – with some states having seen as much as a 250 per cent increase in training requests for this type of permit. In the 50 days since the Parkland, Florida shooting, companies and networks of firearm instructors that provide training for the permits in dozens of states have seen enquiries spike. One company said it had even received more requests for training than after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. “There’s been a lot of shootings, unfortunately, in this country, but we’ve never seen a spike this big before, even with Newtown,” Chris Schultrop, the CEO and co-founder of Minnesota-based concealed permit training network National Carry Academy (NCA), which works across 27 states, told The Independent. The intensified interest comes as some Republicans in Washington are leading a push to pass a sweeping national concealed carry law that would force states to recognise all permits issued in the United States. That would mean states that do not allow concealed carry permits would have to allow people to use them. Meanwhile, teenage survivors of the Valentine’s Day Parkland shooting are leading a national movement pushing in the opposite direction; for stricter gun control laws. An analysis by NCA found that it had seen a 103.5 per cent increase in interest in it’s trainings in the month following the Parkland, Florida shooting in February, including a spike of as much as 283 per cent in Ohio. That’s similar to what other networks have experienced, like Concealed Carry Inc, which markets itself as the largest concealed carry training network in the United States and works across 28 states. Jacob Paulsen, a trainer with the network, said that it saw about a 250 per cent increase in interest over concealed carry in Florida alone, and at least a 100 per cent increase in its network as a whole. Mr Paulsen says the pattern repeats after each mass shooting that captures headlines in America. “Why is there an increase after these events? I think people are more proactive about being concerned for their own personal safety,” Mr Paulsen said…

Exactly!!   For more on this story, click on the text above…

Opinion/Analysis: Can teachers carry guns now? How ‘bout now?

Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida — a former student who was expelled for disciplinary reasons — was arrested for the shooting deaths of 17 students. The left likes to use these tragedies to sing a song of gun control. But they’re making the wrong case. What’s needed are more guns in the hands of the right people. What’s needed is a concerted and widespread push for teachers, staffers, administrators to be given the rubber-stamp approval to conceal-carry firearms on school grounds. Look at the alleged scenario of this latest tragedy. “Cruz, equipped with a gas mask, smoke grenades and multiple magazines of ammunition, opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 17 people and sending hundreds of students fleeing into the streets,” NBC wrote, citing police. Other media reports said he first pulled the fire alarm to pour students into the hallway and then, after shooting, that he tried to blend in with those fleeing into the streets. This fits with the police telling that they apprehended him at home, after viewing surveillance video. Now imagine the scenario where teachers at this school are armed — where administrators actually have guns at the ready — where it’s publicly known that staffers are maybe, maybe not carrying. It’s the last that’s key. Never mind how many staffers are actually armed. Fact is, a gunman suspecting resistance — fearing resistance — may not even carry out gunning plans. Just the knowledge that some may be carrying could defray killings. If Cruz thought a teacher or two were well-armed, would he have gone on his rampage in the first place? Mull this: “Guns Saving Lives: 12 Stories Cited by Second Amendment Advocates,” a headline from Newsmax in late 2017. Or this, from the Daily News in 2012: “Concealed weapons save lives.” Or this, from National Review in 2015: “Gun-Free Zones Don’t Save Lives — Right to Carry Laws Do.” Or this, from Gun Owners of America, way back in 2008: “Fact Sheet: Guns Save Lives: Section 8: Arm Yourself With The Facts.” That’s right — the facts. And the fact is: Metal doesn’t kill. Flesh does. And going after guns does nothing but give the criminals the upper hand. If we want to stop the senseless violence gripping America, the tragic incidents of death and mayhem at our schools, we have to address the root of this violence — the fact that our society is largely godless, morally drifting, wallowing in secularism, broken and damaged. Until then, let’s at least level the playing field and give administrators, teachers, staffers — those who’ve already been cleared to conceal carry — the ability to conceal carry in the classroom. It’s for the children.

Well said, Cheryl.  Cheryl Chumley is the author of that outstanding op/ed.  Excellent!!    🙂

National Reciprocity for Concealed Carry Passes House, Heads to Senate

On December 6 the House of Representatives passed national reciprocity for concealed carry after well over an hour of debate, including a 15 minute vote resulting from a last-ditch effort to recommit national reciprocity to committee. The effort to recommit to committee was a Democrat effort to derail the vote on national reciprocity. The vote to recommit failed by a margin of 236 to 190. The House then passed Rep. Richard Hudson’s (R-NC) national reciprocity legislation via a voice vote. Democrats then requested a recorded vote and the final tabulation on the recorded vote was 231 to 198. On December 4, Breitbart News reported that Hudson urged his colleagues to honor the 73 percent of Americans who support the passage of national reciprocity. Hudson predicted national reciprocity would receive a floor vote December 6, saying, “[The] 73 percent of Americans who want to see reciprocity are finally going to have their day on the House floor.” National reciprocity now moves to the Senate. If it passes there it will correct the cumbersome and often confusing patchwork of concealed carry laws that law-abiding Americans face as they traverse the U.S.

Agreed!!   🙂

Major concealed-carry bill picks up momentum, steams toward House floor

Gun-rights supporters are eyeing a big win this week as a bill that would make concealed-carry permits valid across state lines heads to the House floor — though it faces long odds in the Senate amid deep-pocketed opposition from gun-control advocates. “This is just simple, common-sense legislation that says if you’re a law-abiding citizen … we’re not going to turn you into a criminal just for crossing an invisible state line,” bill sponsor Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., told “Fox News @ Night.” Hudson says the bill simply attempts to clarify the patchwork of state laws that confuse citizens who can unwittingly get arrested when traveling from state to state. “All I’m saying is, when I cross the state line, I don’t want to automatically become a criminal,” he said. The three-term congressman also is quick to point out the measure does not attempt to usurp state and local authority with federal law, nor does it ease background checks on gun purchases. The bill has 213 cosponsors, including three Democrats, and backing from 24 state attorneys general. Hudson has tried for several years to get his Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act passed and scored a victory several days ago when it got through the House Judiciary Committee. The full House is set to vote on Wednesday.