There is a right to carry a gun without a license in Alabama.
Half of America's 50 states now allow people to carry handguns without a permit after a state law changed last year.
Thirteen years ago, only two states, Vermont and Alaska, allowed its residents the unfettered right to carry a gun.
In the last three years, eleven states have passed permitless carry laws.
The movement has won victories in state legislatures with remarkable speed, drawing cheers from gun rights advocates while raising fears among reformers that the changes will lead to more guns in the street.
A model walks the runway during a fashion show. Half of America's 50 states now allow people to carry handguns.
Andi Turner is the legislative director for the Texas Rifle Association. Half of the states of the union now recognize it.
Permit systems require applicants to demonstrate safe gun handling and knowledge of gun laws, as well as use of lethal force.
Nick Wilson is a gun violence researcher at the Center for American Progress. The campaign was a success for the gun lobby. It helps their bottom line.
Two other trends bode well for gun advocates. The surge in sales was caused by the covid-19 epidemic. A gun-buying public that has traditionally skewed male, white and conservative has been changed by people of color and women.
There has been a 20% increase in firearm deaths since the beginning of the epidemic, according to a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
With big-ticket gun reforms like the assault weapons ban or universal background checks stalling in Congress, the state laws mark a defeat for the reform movement, which sees the trend as a public security threat.
Increased gun ownership tends to correlate with increased violence.
Adam Skaggs is the chief counsel for the Giffords Law Center, a nonpartisan reform group.
Over the last five years, researchers have shown that loosened restrictions on carrying handguns is linked to increased gun theft and road rage incidents.
Increasing the risk of getting shot reduces police efficiency and is one of the reasons why more people are carrying guns.
Police performance is degraded by putting more guns on the street. Clearance rates for all crimes go down when states allow more people to have guns.
The number of states with permitless carry laws can be overstated. Smaller states with rural populations tend to favor a more restrictive approach to firearms than larger states with more urban populations.
More than one third of Americans live in states that allow permitless carry.
A sign advertising the U.S. Concealed Carry Association is on display at the SHOT Show, the annual trade show for the gun industry in Las Vegas.
In the same way that gun rights groups have made rapid progress with permitless carry laws in red states, liberals have pushed opposing measures.
The gun restrictions were tightened after the mass shooting in Buffalo. A state-level ban on assault weapons was enacted in Delaware. The law that restricts magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and requires a permit for all gun purchases is tied up in the courts.
Last year, the Supreme Court made it harder for states to keep people from carrying handguns. A New York law requiring applicants for concealed handgun licenses to demonstrate a specific need for carrying a weapon was struck down by the ruling.
Permits for carrying handguns were not abolished, however.
There is nothing in the Constitution that requires permitless carry. Guns in public have always been subject to tighter regulation.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman said that the Bruen decision could have a big impact on state-level gun debates.
The states that are left-leaning and right-leaning are likely to become more divided. You are going to keep watching them go to court and ask what the truth is. If the truth comes out, they will find that assault weapons bans, magazine restrictions, age restrictions and background checks are unconstitutional.
It is possible that permitless carry states will become the majority before the year is over.
A constitutional carry bill was pre-filed by a Virginia delegate. When the Florida Legislature returns in April, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants the issue to be top of mind.
A permitless carry bill in Nebraska failed to break the threshold for overcoming a filibuster by two votes. The governor of Nebraska wants to try again.
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