This bill, the National Constitutional Carry Act, would add a new Section 927 to Title 18 of the U.S. Code. The new section says no State or local government may criminally or civilly punish, or otherwise indirectly limit, the carrying of firearms in public by U.S. citizens who are otherwise allowed to possess firearms under state and federal law. It also says state and local laws that criminalize or dissuade public carrying by such people would have no force or effect. The bill defines "firearm" to include firearms, ammunition feeding devices, and ammunition. It defines "public" to include places open to the public except when a private owner clearly posts a firearm prohibition, and it excludes places where screening for firearms is done under state law. The bill makes clear that "State" includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. possessions.
If you are a U.S. citizen and are otherwise legally allowed to own a gun, this bill would bar States and localities from making it a crime or imposing civil penalties for carrying a firearm in public. It would also block state or local rules that create financial or other barriers to carrying in public. Private businesses could still prohibit firearms on their property if they clearly post that rule. Places that lawfully screen for weapons under state law are not covered by the bill's definition of public.
No publicly available information.
The bill's findings state that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, including carrying in public, and that recent Supreme Court decisions (Heller, McDonald, Bruen) support that view. The findings say some state and local gun rules are not consistent with the Second Amendment or the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation, and that criminalizing peaceful public carry is contrary to the Amendment's original meaning.
No publicly available information.