House Republicans push bill on concealed carry

President Donald Trump has long promised to make it easier for people to legally carry concealed weapons across state lines.

While campaigning for a second term, Trump vowed to sign a bill on concealed carry reciprocity, promising a federal law that would broaden states' abilities to recognize concealed carry permits issued in other states. 

"Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line," Trump said in a February 2023 video. 

Congressional Republicans are still working to get legislation on Trump's desk. 

In March 2025, the House Judiciary Committee sent the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act to the House floor, where it has yet to be debated. More than 180 Republicans and one Democrat co-sponsored the legislation.

More than half of U.S. states have some version of concealed carry reciprocity, agreements with other states about the validity of concealed carry permits or licenses. Several states do not recognize out-of-state concealed carry permits.

The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would require states to recognize the gun legislation of all other states, specifically allowing gun owners to practice concealed carry across state lines without restriction. 

"For example, if I got a permit in a state that doesn't require background checks, other states that do require such checks would be required to honor it," Joseph Blocher, law professor and faculty director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law, told PolitiFact. "That doesn't mean that I'd be exempt from other state laws, like restrictions on where guns can be carried, but it would mean that I could avoid the state's permitting requirements." 

The bill would still allow states to prohibit concealed carry on state or local government property and property owners to restrict concealed carry.

Blocher said if the bill were to become law, it would likely face legal hurdles over Congress' constitutional power to override states' oversight of concealed carry policy. 

In 2017, a similar bill co-sponsored by House Speaker Mike Johnson passed through the House but stalled in the Senate. Although six Democrats in the House voted for the legislation, opposing Senate Democrats argued the law would unfairly restrict states' ability to enforce their own concealed carry standards and increase the risk of shootings. 

Members of Congress have started the process toward passing legislation that enforces concealed carry reciprocity, but the legislation faces many steps before it could become law. We rate this promise In the Works. 

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