When one state issues a resident a concealed weapons permit and another state honors that permit it is referred to as ccw reciprocity. Currently reciprocity is established either by an agreement negotiated by the appropriate departments in the respective states, or it is set by legislative action. For example, it is common that a state (State “A”) may pass a law mandating they will honor another state’s (State “B”) permit as long as the requirements to get the permit are similar and that state (B) in turn honors their (state A) permits.
The ccw reciprocity legislation that was put forth this spring at the national level would have required that all states honor concealed weapons permits issued by any state in the union.
The concern many state legislators have about this type of universal ccw reciprocity is that it takes away their freedom to set the minimum requirements needed to get a permit. An individual might not qualify to get a permit under a more restrictive state’s rules, but with this legislation could carry a concealed weapon in their state with a permit issued under more lax requirements.
At issue is the fact that some states either do not issue concealed weapons permits at all or their requirements are so strict, or costly, that residents apply to other states for a non-resident permit. If the national ccw reciprocity act passes, the concern is that a state may find her own citizens getting non-resident permits through another state which they are then forced to honor.
Some of the permitting requirements that have the greatest impact on getting a concealed weapons permit and therefore on ccw reciprocity include the age of the applicant, the background check process, the applicant’s criminal record, and the type and amount of gun safety training required.
Licenses vary in appearance widely from state to state and according to law enforcement officials it is not always possible to determine if a concealed weapons permit from another state is valid.
Those in favor of a national ccw reciprocity act can work together to address these concerns so that gun owners can more easily travel across the country with their handguns. In the past, it was difficult for law enforcement to check on driver’s licenses but these issues have largely been resolved. It is not unreasonable to assume that the technology exists to also enable a safe ccw reciprocity verification system in the United States now that we are in the twenty-first century.