Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a coalition of state attorneys general urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. This legislation, known as H.R. 38, aims to establish a consistent framework for lawful concealed carry across state lines.
In a letter addressed to House leadership, Attorney General Wilson and his counterparts highlighted the importance of broad rights for concealed carry among law-abiding citizens. They argued that such measures enhance public safety and respect gun owners’ fundamental liberties.
“It is outrageous that law-abiding Americans can face felony charges and prison time for exercising a constitutional right simply because they cross into a different state,” said Attorney General Wilson. “The Second Amendment right now is subject to a patchwork of inconsistent state laws; this is why Congress must end this injustice and pass concealed carry reciprocity now. Every day they delay, they allow constitutional rights to be trampled and responsible citizens to be treated like criminals.”
The proposed measure would permit individuals who are legally allowed to carry a concealed firearm in their home state to do so in any other state where concealed carry is legal. The letter counters critics by emphasizing that individuals prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms are excluded from this provision. The attorneys general also referenced independent studies indicating that concealed carry licensees tend to be more law-abiding than the general population.
“Concealed carry is a constitutional right, and it can have substantial public safety benefits by allowing people the means to respond to emergent threats to themselves or others when police are not immediately available to intervene,” the letter states. “Yet our constituents are threatened with arrest, prosecution and mandatory prison time for technical violations of licensing or possession laws involving conduct that is perfectly legal in all but a handful of states, most of which have well-established history and practice of suppressing the right to keep and bear arms. This is unacceptable, and Congress has the authority and the duty to protect these rights.”
Alongside South Carolina, attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming also signed the letter.
