Sponsors (70)
The bill broadens and protects individuals' ability to carry firearms publicly and reduces state/local power to restrict that carry, trading increased individual carry rights for higher public-safety risks and potential legal and fiscal costs for governments, businesses, and health systems.
Eligible U.S. citizens (residents and nonresidents) who meet federal eligibility can carry firearms in public without fear of state or local criminal penalties, preserving public-carry rights nationwide.
People with disabilities and other individuals who rely on public self-defense protections retain an affirmed right to carry for self-defense in public.
Gun owners and courts may face less legal uncertainty because the bill explicitly aligns congressional findings with Supreme Court precedents recognizing an individual right to bear arms.
Eligible members of the public: The bill expands or protects permitless public carry, making it easier for more people to carry firearms in public without state/local permitting or related requirements.
Law enforcement and the public: Broader public carry and reduced permitting/training gatekeeping could increase risks to police and civilians and make it harder for officers to identify prohibited carriers, raising chances of shootings or escalated confrontations.
State and local governments: The bill limits local authority to enact or enforce public-carry restrictions, reducing local control to tailor public-safety policies to community conditions.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Bars state and local penalties on public carry by U.S. citizens legally eligible to possess firearms, nullifying contrary state or local rules while preserving private-property bans and screening exceptions.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Thomas Massie · Last progress January 23, 2025
Prohibits States and localities from criminalizing or otherwise restricting the public carrying of firearms by U.S. citizens who are legally allowed to possess firearms under federal and state law. It amends federal law to invalidate state or local rules, fees, permits, or other measures that penalize or indirectly dissuade eligible citizens from carrying firearms in places open to the public, while preserving private-property bans and places where weapons screening is required under state law. The bill applies to the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. possessions, defines “public” as places open to the public (except privately owned premises that display a clear ban), and retains federal and state eligibility requirements for firearm possession. It creates a national rule that effectively implements permitless or “constitutional” carry for covered persons and preempts contrary state and local regulations.