By Chris Wagoner:
As the country begins to breathe again after the election night sweats, from a very close, yet definite win by now President Elect Donald Trump, what does it mean for all of us that voted based on the loss of our rights over the last several presidencies and our fear of sanctions and laws banning our Second Amendment rights in some form or fashion?
During his campaign, President Elect Trump, at various times, voiced differing opinions on what he thought about our Second Amendment rights. He did, however, always stick by the fact that he was in support of the Second Amendment and the right of the people to defend themselves. Well he should, since he is a concealed firearms license holder. I wonder if he will be carrying during the next 4 years at all. I highly doubt it, why bother when you have some of the best personal protection professionals in the world (the Secret Service) protecting you and your family. But will that make him change his views on the 2nd Amendment? I doubt that as well it.
What I do know is during the weeks and months leading up to the inauguration President Elect Trump said that he was interested in pushing for a National Concealed Carry Reciprocity in all states. It’s easy to do. See cops around the nation enjoy the privilege of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) which allows police officers or retired police officers to carry concealed firearms in any state anywhere that the law allows officers in that same state. Which is pretty much everywhere not prohibited by federal law. You have to requalify yearly, and have an ID or letter from your retired agency stating you are in good standing. But nothing else is required and the qualification course is not standard throughout the US. It depends on the state you are in.
In Florida, it’s a very easy course of fire (meaning qualification test) and you get issued a card that is maintained by the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) Instructor that qualified you, and it’s good for one year from the date issued. But it’s not the same as a Concealed Carry License in Florida which requires minimal training, and is good for seven years from issue. So the Florida Concealed Carry License is actually better than a LEOSA carry card for cops in Florida.
So, what about this national reciprocity and how easy would it be to do? Just fashion it after the LEOSA as far as rules and details go, and you could institute it in your first 100 days as President Mr. Trump! Require that the person have a state-issued valid concealed firearms license and that by doing so they are entitled to carry in all 50 states where not prohibited by federal law. Simple.
If President Elect Trump wanted to make things even simpler, he could ask Congress to pass a pre-emption law that bans states from regulating firearms at all based on the Constitution guarantee of “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” meaning that States may pass no laws regulating the possession of firearms and that Federal Laws must be within that simple framing of the Second Amendment. This could then guarantee that any adult has the right to own and possess a firearm and carry either openly or concealed if they so choose.
But wait! Oh the horror that would ensue if he did that! Think of all the shootouts and the blood in the streets that would follow “constitutional carry”! Well in reality that is not what would happen. No shoot outs, no blood in the streets, none of the other dire predictions would come true. How do I know? Simple, look at history and the states that already have it. Ten of our fifty states already have “constitutional carry” including: Vermont (since 1791!), Montana, Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming, Arkansas, Kansas, West Virginia, Idaho, and Mississippi all have it. With another twenty-two states planning on introducing the bills in the coming year according to gunlaws.com. So, why not just make it the law of the land?
It’s very hard to understand how we got so far off track. What other right do we have to buy back from the government to exercise? None.
So, as President Elect Trump meets with President Obama he should begin to formulate his plan for the first 100 days of his presidency. And in doing so he could make a huge leap in the right direction by giving the American people back something that they lost some time ago in many states, the constitutional right to “keep and bear arms” as promised and made into the supreme law of the land by our founding fathers! Let’s make America great again and give us our freedoms back!!
Chris Wagoner is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran . He has been in law enforcement the last 35+ years. He specializes in LE Firearms Instruction, and is in charge of a large Police Academy in North Florida. In his spare time Chris is a free-lance Military Reporter and owner/founder of the Largest Military Videos Channel on YouTube “3rdID8487”.
