This map illustrating the status of laws about carrying concealed firearms looked hugely different 20 years ago. Details and an enlargeable map can be found
here.
Since the mid-1980s when the National Rifle Association began its campaign to get all the states to relax their guns laws, including those regarding citizens' carrying of hidden firearms, the gun lobby and its imitators have been on a roll. There have been setbacks. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that imposed background checks on firearms purchases from licensed dealers and a five-day waiting period on purchases of handguns. But the waiting period went away in 1998. And, in affirming most of the Brady Act in 1997, the highest court in the land ruled in
Printz v. United States that the federal government could not force state and local officials to carry out background checks and, for that matter, enforce other federal laws.
As can be seen at this interactive map, the gun lobby has been exceedingly successful when it comes to making changes in the rules regarding carrying concealed firearms. The first state laws forbidding concealed firearms was passed in 1813. Over time, most states adopted similar laws. Today, as a consequence of NRA lobbying, every state allows at least some of their citizens to carry concealed, Illinois having been the last holdout until the state Supreme Court ruled in People v. Aguilar that it could no longer deny permits across the board.
There is a relatively new effort in the hidden-firearm arena—dumping state laws that require people to obtain permits to carry a concealed gun. Vermont has never required permits. Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming and Arkansas no longer do so. Montana requires no permits outside city limits. New Hampshire, Utah and South Carolina are talking about ending the requirement for permits. And Kansas is on the verge of passing such a law.
And there is yet another new effort underway in a few states. Dana Liebelson reports:
Conservative lawmakers in at least 11 states are pushing legislation that would prevent state law enforcement from enforcing some or all federal gun restrictions. Proponents of these bills are emboldened by the success of marijuana legalization at the state level and claim that federal law enforcement is stretched too thin to stop them. [...]
In Montana, the state House passed legislation earlier this month that would prohibit the enforcement of any potential federal ban or restriction on firearms and magazines. If a Montana cop did enforce such a federal law, it would be considered theft of public money. The Montana bill says that state employees are still allowed to enforce some federal laws -- for example, the ban on machine guns. But most states that have introduced this type of legislation have used broader language. [...]
"I've seen how quickly the federal government had to back off in response to marijuana legalization measures in Colorado and Washington state, and found this to be a good strategy in support of our right to keep and bear arms as well," said state Sen. Kelli Ward (R), who introduced the legislation in Arizona.
These laws seem destined for a court test in the not-too-distant future. But whatever the outcome, with 30 years of victories in their pockets, gun rights advocates can be expected to keep chipping away at firearm restrictions until only a few states have any in place at all.