Finally, after many long years, law and order is returning to our nation’s capital. In March, President Trump signed an executive order to “Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful,” and part of that means giving law-abiding residents the power to protect and defend themselves.
Unfortunately, up until this point, it has been intentionally arduous for District residents to obtain a concealed carry license to protect themselves and their loved ones. D.C. has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, and the process to apply for a concealed carry permit can take many months.
Applicants are required to go through multiple levels of red tape in order to receive permission from D.C. to carry, including an exceptionally long 16-hour training course as well as a marksman proficiency test in which they must score with 70 percent accuracy or higher. If their permit is accepted, they must then continue to re-apply every two years while also navigating the minefield of restrictions imposed on firearms and ammunition.
Thankfully, part of the president’s initiative to make D.C. safe again is to “collaborate with appropriate local government entities to provide assistance to increase the speed and lower the cost of processing concealed carry license requests in the District of Columbia.” The goal is to cut the process, which once took numerous months, down to only four days.
The current gun laws for the city are not changing — yet. But there is hope with this initiative to streamline the licensing process, making it easier for Washingtonians to navigate.
This directive makes it clear that the president is prioritizing our Second Amendment rights and believes law-abiding citizens should be able to protect and defend their families, no matter where they live. However, it is not just Washington that needs law and order. Cities across the country, including Chicago and Baltimore, have become crime ridden — leaving people unsafe and, in many cases, unprotected.
The next step in making D.C. and other cities safe is to institute the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which rests in the hands of Congress. This bill, introduced by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), would extend concealed carry permit protections across the 50 states.
Currently, standards for permit reciprocity vary from state to state. A handful of anti-gun states refuse to recognize the permits of any other states, simply to suppress the exercise of the right to bear arms within their borders. This creates challenges, for example, for the thousands of licensed concealed carriers who commute within the D.C. metro area, which includes Maryland and Virginia. Virginia accepts the licenses of other jurisdictions, but the District and Maryland do not. A wrong turn that takes a motorist over a state boundary could suddenly mean an unintentional violation of the law, with potentially ruinous consequences.
The numerous disparities between state laws have created traps for lawful carriers, leading to an abundance of confusion and, in some cases, criminal charges for those simply exercising their Second Amendment rights. Because of this, well-trained and law-abiding gun owners are less likely to protect themselves or those around them, for fear of being arrested and prosecuted — resulting in fewer “good guys with guns” and more unarmed victims for “bad guys with guns.”
The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would protect your right to self-defense and allow for national concealed carry reciprocity, protecting law-abiding citizens no matter where they are. Our organization has been at the forefront of this fight for many years; we believe that the Second Amendment is not bound by state lines and red tape. This bill, which has been before Congress time and again with bipartisan support, now sits in bureaucratic limbo.
Thankfully, the president’s recent directive sends a clear message for Congress — it should not be more difficult for law-abiding Americans to practice their Second Amendment rights and defend themselves. We call on Congress to swiftly pass the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act and protect Americans from the crazy hoops and rules imposed by gun grabbers. If we want to make D.C. and our cities safe again, Congress must act now.
Criminals won’t stop at state lines, and neither can we.
John Commerford is executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action.
