{"id":90727,"date":"2023-01-26T16:39:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T20:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=90727"},"modified":"2023-02-02T14:43:35","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T18:43:35","slug":"permitless-carry-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/permitless-carry-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Permitless Carry States: New Gun Laws & How They Affect You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does permitless carry mean? How many states allow permitless carry? What should you know about open and concealed carry laws?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last decade, the number of permitless carry states\u2014those that allow people to carry concealed weapons without a license\u2014has jumped from two to 25. However, the change isn\u2019t as drastic as it sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for an overview of permitless carry in the United States, including what’s changing for gun owners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Permitless Carry\u201425 States & Counting <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since 2010, the number of “permitless carry” states has grown from two to 25,<\/a> allowing people to carry concealed firearms in public without a license to do so. But this change isn\u2019t as drastic as it sounds. In this article, we\u2019ll break down what\u2019s actually changing and what it means for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Changing and What\u2019s Not<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In most states that have enacted permitless carry, it doesn\u2019t change who\u2019s<\/em> allowed to carry a gun, but only how<\/em> they\u2019re allowed to carry it. <\/strong>Everyone who was prohibited from possessing guns before \u201cpermitless carry\u201d is still prohibited from possessing them. The changes just make it easier for someone who legally possesses a gun to legally conceal<\/em> it<\/a>, instead of carrying it openly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historically, most states had laws prohibiting concealed carry or requiring you to get a permit before carrying a concealed weapon. However, many of these states never had laws that prohibited open carry or required a license for it.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, states have been moving to reconcile their laws so that the legal requirements for open carry and concealed carry are about the same<\/strong>. In principle, state legislators can do that in either of two ways: They can repeal the laws that restrict concealed carry, creating \u201cpermitless carry,\u201d or they can pass new laws to restrict open carry like they restrict concealed carry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trend Toward Permitless Carry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The trend has been leaning towards permitless carry: 25 states have legalized permitless concealed carry so far<\/a>. A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that barred states from denying concealed carry on certain grounds<\/a> also reflects and reinforces this trend, although the ruling still allows states to require a permit. And a surge in gun sales in 2020 and 2021<\/a> in which many buyers were reportedly purchasing their first firearm<\/a>, demonstrates that more Americans appear to be interested in owning and carrying guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite this trend, some states are moving in the other direction. For example, Oregon, (which allows open carry without a permit but requires a permit for concealed carry<\/a>) recently passed legislation that would require a permit to purchase<\/em> a firearm, meaning new gun owners will effectively need a permit for either open or concealed carry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And some states are arguably moving in both<\/em> directions. For example, Idaho recently allowed permitless concealed carry<\/a> (in addition to open carry, which wasn\u2019t restricted to begin with). But at about the same time, the state prohibited carrying firearms in certain places (such as college campuses) without a new type of permit.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Numbers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

At the present time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n