Legal Basics
Carry Permits
By Kathy Jackson
Before you read this article, please READ MY DISCLAIMER at the bottom
of the page.
Please do not just take my word, or anyone else's word, about any of these
legal issues. I AM NOT A LAWYER and THIS ARTICLE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.
You should look up your own state laws and do your own research about
how those laws apply to you. If you do not understand anything, ask a
qualified expert in your own state law to explain the statutes to you.
This stuff is way too serious to simply trust the word of some chick on
the 'net. LOOK IT UP YOURSELF.
Let me start out by saying that there is absolutely no way I can tell
you exactly what is legal in your jurisdiction, and what is not. There
are roughly a gajillion federal gun laws in America, with another sixty
kazillion state, county, and municipal laws beneath those. Every time
Congress meets, every time your state legislature is called to session,
every time some bureaucratic committee needs to interpret and refine existing
regulation, the rules are likely to change.
My purpose in writing this article is to give you a very general overview
of how you may legally carry a gun, and then point you to places where
you can find the specific information you need.
What's a Carry Permit?
Except for in Alaska, Vermont, and the parts of Montana outside most city
limits, if you want to carry a concealed handgun with you when you leave
your own property, you will need a carry permit issued by your state,
or by another state whose permits your state recognizes.
Carry permits have different names in different states. In Washington,
a permit to carry a handgun is called a Concealed Pistol License (CPL).
In Colorado, it's a permit to Carry a Concealed Weapon (CCW). In Pennsylvania,
it's a License to Carry (LTC). In Texas, it is a Concealed Handgun License
(CHL). The name varies with the state.1
Not all states issue carry permits, although most do. As of August 2006,
48 states have some provision for citizens to carry concealed weapons
(Illinois and Wisconsin are the two holdouts). Two states, Alaska and
Vermont, allow concealed carry without a permit throughout the state.
Thirty-seven states have "shall issue" carry permit laws, equiring
governmental authorities to issue a carry permit whenever a citizen has
met a specific set of legal requirements. Nine states have "may issue"
laws, leaving the issuance of a permit up to the personal discretion of
an individual bureaucrat rather than by the applicant meeting specific,
concrete requirements laid out by state law.
Some states require citizens to get a permit simply to own a firearm.
This is not always the same thing as a carry permit, though permission
to carry may be part of the ownership permit. In Massachusetts, for example,
a citizen must get a permit to purchase a handgun, and permission to carry
that handgun will be granted or denied depending upon the category of
ownership permit which the state agrees to issue. In most states, however,
ownership permits are not required.
How Do I Get A Carry Permit?
The requirements for obtaining a concealed carry permit vary from state
to state.
Some states have very simple rules, requiring the citizen to pay a fee
and perhaps have her fingerprints taken. Other states' requirements can
be more complex. Typically, the state will require a training class, a
background check, fingerprints, and multiple fees which go to different
agencies within the state and perhaps also to the FBI for the fingerprint
check.
All states require that the applicant be permitted to own a weapon under
federal firearms laws. Neither felons, nor involuntarily committed mentally
ill, nor domestic batterers are permitted to own weapons at all, let alone
carry them in public.
You can find your state's specific laws at
Handgun Law dot US.
How Much Does A Carry Permit Cost?
This, too, varies from state to state. The least expensive states are
Alaska and Vermont, where no permit is required anywhere in the state.
Among "shall issue" states, the least expensive permit is in
New Hampshire, at $10. The most expensive may be Colorado's, which costs
$152 and also requires a separately-purchased class.
Among the "may issue" states, carry permits can become very
expensive indeed. Issuance in these states may sometimes depend upon a
sizeable donation to someone's re-election campaign fund.2
In addition to the raw cost of the permit itself, expect to pay fees for
every additional requirement in the law. For instance, if your state requires
you to submit fingerprints for a background check, expect to pay a fee
to the government office which takes your prints, and another fee to the
FBI for processing the prints and making sure your background is clean.
If your state requires a class, the class may cost only a nominal fee,
or it may cost $150 or more. The cost will depend upon how many hours
of instruction the state requires, and will also depend upon the financial
situation of the instructor you choose.
You can find your state's specific laws at
Handgun Law dot US.
What is a Training Class Like?
Not all states require training classes. Of those that require training
classes, the specific classes may be quite different. Typical are 4-,
8-, or 12-hour classes, with 4-hour classes being perhaps the most common.
Some states have a very rigid curriculum laid out by law, and in these
states there is little difference from one class to another. But in most
states, there is no set curriculum and the content may be very different
depending upon which instructor you choose.
Several states recognize NRA-certified classes, or require all classes
to be taken from an NRA-certified instructor. This is not surprising,
as the NRA is the oldest and largest source for firearms safety training
in the country.
A few states require applicants to qualify for carry permits by shooting
a course of fire with scored targets. These qualification shoots are usually
very simple. For the most part, these qualification shoots do not test
for or require excellent marksmanship, and are only given so it is documented
that the applicant can safely fire a gun.
Why do so many states require CCW classes, but don't require students
in those classes to prove they can shoot well? This is because the legislators
are, by and large, not concerned with whether or not any individual citizen
really has the ability to protect herself with the gun she carries. Most
states require training simply because, when debating whether to pass
a shall-issue law, a common concern is whether firearms-toting citizens
will follow the laws governing firearms use, or will misuse their guns
by shooting in situations when shooting is not legal. So the legislators
often tack on a training requirement to be certain everyone who has a
permit to carry a gun will be exposed to the laws about when not
to use the gun. For this reason, those who are primarily concerned with learning
how to protect themselves should definitely seek out additional training
over and above that required by state law.
Once I Have My Permit, Where Can I Carry?
Your state law will spell that out very exactly. If you must take a class
in order to obtain a permit, the class will probably cover this in some
detail.
Typically, within the state you will be allowed to carry everywhere except
places specifically prohibited by law. Commonly prohibited places include
many government buildings, schools, bars, and sometimes churches. In addition,
some states have laws allowing shopkeepers to post their places of business
to prohibit concealed weapons.
The laws about where carry is and is not allowed are very specific
to your state. Please look up the law for yourself, and do not take anyone
else's word for it.
You can find your state's specific laws at
Handgun Law dot US.
Will My Permit Allow Me to Carry in Other States?
Maybe.
Most carry permits are honored by at least a few other states in addition
to the issuing state. No state has a permit that is recognized everywhere,
though Utah and Florida's permits are both recognized in many other states.
If you have a permit issued by one state, you may not carry in a second
state unless the second state also honors your permit.
The lists of which states honor which other states' permits are constantly
changing. Visit Handgun Law dot
US.
When carrying in a state which recognizes your home state's carry permit,
you must follow local laws about where carry is and is not allowed. Your
own state's laws do not pertain.
Do I Need a Permit to Carry at Home?
Generally speaking, no. But if you live in a state with very restrictive
laws, you may need a permit simply to own a firearm, including firearms
you keep locked up at home.
For more specific information about carry permits in your home state,
please visit Handgun Law dot US.
For more information about legal issues, please visit Cornered Cat's
Legal Resources page.
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this web site © 2006-2009 by Kathy Jackson. For permission to quote, please
contact author.
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