Musing on concealed carry permits

North Carolina qualification target

I recently applied for my North Carolina (NC) carry permit. The permitting process in NC involves taking an all-day class (Old School Protection in Johnston County) which includes a shooting qualification test at close range. I should get my permit within 90-ish days of applying.

As I was taking the class, in the back of my mind I was musing about the different requirements of various states. With a variety of requirements among the states, the results are always about the same - -

In the mid 1970's I got a "Pistol Toter's Permit" in Georgia. It had no training requirements. To this day, permits in Georgia do not have specific training requirements. I had a Tennessee permit for over twenty years. The requirements there are similar to NC requirements, a day of training with a shooting test. Both Tennessee and North Carolina require a background check; and North Carolina requires a check to see if you are reported to be a loony tune. Florida requires that you show some evidence of training and have a background check.

There are differences between between these states, and between them and other states. Tennessee just a few years ago enacted "Constitutional Vehicle Carry", meaning that with just a few prohibited areas, one may legally carry any firearm they lawfully own or possess in their vehicle. North Carolina, on the other hand has had "Constitutional Open Carry"* since 1921. In Florida, Open Carry (with a few exceptions) is strictly forbidden.

Some states require no permit, including Vermont, which has no permitting process, and Arizona, which makes permitting optional, for those who might want a permit for interstate travel to states that recognize the permit. Also, there's that pesky Federal gun-free school zone act that apparently makes an exception for permitted individuals.

Now what is the result, as mentioned at the beginning?

• Peaceable citizens, with rare exceptions, act responsibly when armed, whether permitted or not.
• The permitting process is a de-facto infringement on the right to bear arms.
• Bad actors with felony convictions or misdemeanor domestic violence offenses often continue to ignore laws and be ongoing bad actors.
• Bad actors, all to frequently, ignore gun-free-zone signs, and continue to kill and maim.
• Most legislators are accessories-before-the-fact, because they continue to mandate gun-free-zones for peaceable citizens, thus creating killing fields for mass-murderers as we have now seen in Florida.

For further information on state laws on guns, check out handgunlaw.us

* H/T John Richardson of Only Guns and Money blog