WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) joined U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and 42 of their Republican colleagues in introducing the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. The legislation would allow Wisconsin concealed carry permit holders to exercise those rights in any other state that allows concealed carry, while abiding by that state’s laws. The legislation protects states’ rights while allowing law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights away from home.
Background on the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act:
- Allows law-abiding citizens to exercise their fundamental right to self-defense while they are traveling or temporarily living away from home.
- Allows individuals with concealed carry privileges in their home state to conceal carry in any other state that also allows concealed carry.
- Treats state-issued concealed carry permits like drivers’ licenses where an individual can use their home-state license to drive in another state, but must abide by that other state’s speed limit or road laws.
Respects State Sovereignty:
- Does not establish national standards for concealed carry.
- Does not provide for a national concealed carry permit.
- Respects state laws concerning specific types of locations in which firearms may not be carried and types of firearms which may not be carried by the visiting individual.
- Protects states’ rights by not mandating the right to concealed carry in places that do not allow the practice.
Sens. Johnson, Cornyn and Hagerty are also joined on this legislation by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Kennedy (R-La.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).
The full text of the bill can be found here.
