Sponsors (59)
The bill creates a clearer, uniform federal right for eligible U.S. citizens to carry firearms in public (and reduces permitting costs), trading off significant reductions in local regulatory authority and potential increases in public-safety, enforcement, and equity concerns.
U.S. citizens who are legally eligible to possess firearms (residents and traveling nonresidents) gain a clearer, nationwide right to carry in public without state or local criminal or civil penalties.
Plaintiffs and gun owners benefit from stronger congressional findings and a uniform national rule that reduce legal uncertainty and make interstate travel with firearms simpler across states, territories, and D.C.
People who previously faced permitting fees or other local financial barriers can carry in public without those costs, lowering out-of-pocket barriers for low-income eligible gun owners.
Urban residents, children, and other members of the public could face increased exposure to firearms because states and localities would lose the authority to enact or enforce gun-safety rules that limit public carrying.
Local governments and police lose power to prohibit or regulate public carry in high-risk areas, constraining law enforcement tactics and local safety responses.
Broader public carrying may increase perceived and actual public-safety risks and complicate policing and emergency response operations.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits States and local governments from criminalizing, penalizing, or otherwise discouraging the public carrying of firearms by U.S. citizens who are otherwise legally allowed to possess guns. It defines "public" broadly, preserves some private-property prohibitions and screening requirements, and treats District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. possessions as "States" for purposes of the ban on penalties.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Thomas Massie · Last progress January 23, 2025
