Constitutional carry is having the ability to carry a concealed firearm without paying for a permit from your state of residence. There are currently 25 states to go to constitutional carry. I don’t know about you guys but anytime I do not have to give money to the government, I chalk that up as a win.
Permitless carry means more people are open to carrying a firearm and that means more people in the shooting community. As a result, it makes carrying a concealed firearm less strange, and less scary to the average person. This also opens up more new gun owners who will need/should take classes and instruction. Overall a really good thing for the industry and community.
This does come with some “drawbacks”. I would say there are 4 big ones.
1. Lack of legal knowledge. There is going to always be a place you can’t go, things you can’t do, and a big one: situations where you are not justified to use your firearm even though carrying it may be legal.
2. Lack of state reciprocity. Traveling creates an issue. You may live in a state where permitless carry is allowed, but crossing a state line into a state where it is not allowed and having your firearm creates an issue where the law is being broken.
3. In my opinion the biggest one, is lack of training. Most CCW courses require instruction to obtain that permit. Permitless carry eliminates that. I think taking classes to make sure you are proficient is the best thing you can do. Everyone talks about if SHTF, I will fight! Cool, that’s awesome but if you haven’t trained with your firearm the last person I want fighting next to or behind me is someone who has no idea what they are doing.
4. Another “drawback” is if you no longer feel the need for a CCW when you go to purchase a firearm you will have to do a background check at every purchase of a firearm. Not a huge deal but if you go to buy a firearm during a busy time, you are going to wait for that background check to go through. Could be instant, could be an hour, I know in the showroom when it got busy cause a law was passed or something happened to get gun control attention, things got really busy and you would see people who purchased with instant approvals all the time now get delays.
I personally will continue getting my CCW, I came from a state where I had to wait 10 days from purchase to pickup. I do not want to wait anymore, I am impatient. Another perk, that I am not sure is true or not but have heard from friends that are cops, having a CCW when you get pulled over tends to put law enforcement at ease a little. They take it as yeah this guy isn’t a criminal I can relax a little. Who knows, for sure it is up to the officer to decide but it’s no skin off my back to maybe get a free pass.
As always do your research for yourself and decide what is best for you.
-Cano