Overview: The “Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025” is currently under consideration by the 119th Congress, which would require all states to recognize concealed carry permits issued by other states and allow residents of constitutional carry states to legally carry nationwide. The legislation is backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and has raised concerns about a potential “national arms race” and the possibility of more and more people moving around the country with less formal control over concealed weapons. Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise nationally being fueled by the president and his administration on a number of fronts.
S.E. Williams
A YouTube promotion recently caught my attention. A gun advocate was going on and on about how people should pay attention to a Second Amendment effort currently underway by the Trump administration. With so much noise in the political arena my initial thought was to dismiss her comments but curiosity got the best of me.
I began by seeking to understand exactly what the person meant by Trump, gun carrying permits and reciprocity. I learned there is legislation pending titled the “Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025 (H.R. 38 and S. 65) ” that are currently under consideration by the 119th Congress. The term reciprocity is used because it will only apply in states that allow “concealed” carry. Which to me seems pretty laughable on one hand since all 50 states allow some form of concealed carry for guns.
The twist is that the legislation, backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), would require all states to recognize “concealed carry permits” issued by other states. It would also allow residents of constitutional carry (permitless) states to legally carry their weapons nationwide.
What is a constitutional carry state, I wondered? It is a state that allows adults to carry handguns without a government-issued Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permit. There are currently 29 states that fit this category. In some of these states an individual only needs to be 18 years old.
The YouTube moderator’s enthusiasm for the legislation brought to mind what I identify as the “national arms race” that began in Trump’s first term concurrent with COVID-19 and although there has been a steady decline in gun sales, the current administration continues to stoke fear of the other. And with nearly 500 million guns in the hands of the nation’s less than 206 million adults—what could possibly go wrong?
While CCW permits are required in California, Riverside and San Bernardino counties experienced a surge in permit applications in the wake of the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino according to an ABC News 7 report in February 2016.
This year, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Discus shared during a March interview that his department issues nearly 1,000 new permits each year. His department also processes more than 4,000 renewals annually. He made these comments as he expressed support for the state’s passage of AB 1948, legislation aimed at improving the efficiency of California’s concealed carry licensing system. The bill has worked its way through the CA Assembly and Senate. It was sent to Governor Newsom for signature on June 24. It remains unclear as to whether the governor will sign it.
AB 1948 includes the possible statewide implementation of Permitium—a system currently in use by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department that has experienced an explosive increase in CCW permits in the county.
As reported by Uken late last year, partnership efforts between Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and a company named Permitium resulted in the development of a paperless CCW application process that allows applicants to apply for a CCW online. Accordingly, CCW permits in Riverside County have exploded from roughly 3,400 in 2018 to over 60,000.
The young woman on YouTube was advocating for people in states that require CCW permits to apply for them as soon as possible so that when/if the federal legislation becomes law, these permit holders will be grandfathered in. She seemed almost breathless and giddy in her appeal.
“Firearms can be symbols of oppression or freedom, depending on who holds the power.”
Unknown
Why the rush, I wondered? The possibility of more and more people moving around the country with even less formal control over concealed weapons (although I’m near certain this happens already) raised red flags for me.
There is also another piece of gun legislation weaving its way through the federal legislature. This one is titled the National Constitutional Carry Act. If passed and signed into law it will eliminate concealed-carry permits at the federal level all together for those meeting requirements to own a gun.
Meanwhile, all types of tensions continue to rise nationally being fueled by the president and his administration on a number of fronts. These include Trump and the Republican party’s poisoning of the well as it relates to unsubstantiated claims of fraud they’re projecting onto the November presidential election; heightened human rights concerns over the illegal detention and treatment of those in the country without immigration papers; and for those with legal immigration papers, the president’s recent decision to ignore Temporary Protection Status (TPS) protections and deport Haitians that are here legally to a country rocked with conflict and teetering on the edge of a humanitarian disaster. These TPS protections are being stripped from others as well—primarily immigrants of color.
There is also frustration over the ongoing war with Iran and confusion over the agreement/disagreement to end it. This in addition to the continuing genocide in Palestine and our nation’s role as enablers.
And at the same time, Americans are learning the majority of immigrants now being allowed to enter the country are primarily white South Africans—a presidential nod to the racist Elon Musk and a victory for the nation’s white supremacists who are frantically counting every white person in this country in their continuing effort to secure a white majority status. As an aside, I don’t think they really care so much about women of color having abortions as they do about white women having them. Meanwhile, regarding South Africans, what better way to further entrench racism in America than to import a slew of white racists?
As Trump continues with his epic and relentless distractions and efforts to sneak through important issues like this one on CCW under the cover of chaos, the American consumer continues to navigate life with stalled incomes and rising, out of control costs on everything from food to housing to healthcare.
There was however, some good news from the U.S. Supreme Court (Court) on Monday. The Court ruled that Trump cannot stop the counting of “Mail in Ballots” mailed by or on Election Day and received in the days after. Surprisingly, the Court ruled against him on this important issue.
The Supreme Court also ruled on Monday that Trump cannot fire the Black female Fed Board member, Lisa Cook, at-will as he attempted. At the same time, however, as is the way of the current Court–there was also some bad news on Monday.
The Court handed Trump expanded power as it relates to his ability to fire commissioners at-will who serve at other federal agencies. The decision is considered by experts as the largest expansion of presidential power in decades. This will certainly put an end to independent agencies since their commissioners will now apparently serve at the will of the president.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.