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Sportsman Outdoors

States keep advancing the Second Amendment!

Posted 6/24/21

In North Dakota, where gun permitless-carry has been in effect since 2017, Governor Doug Burgum signed a number of bills in April that enhanced the right to self-defense. Included was an expansion of …

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Sportsman Outdoors

States keep advancing the Second Amendment!

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In North Dakota, where gun permitless-carry has been in effect since 2017, Governor Doug Burgum signed a number of bills in April that enhanced the right to self-defense. Included was an expansion of what firearms can be carried in a vehicle for personal protection, an increase in the number of places where law-abiding residents may carry firearms, a reduction in gun permitless-carry residency requirements and the removal of certain minor violations that would disqualify individuals from carry firearms.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed a bill into law that will now allow nonresidents to take advantage of that state’s comprehensive agreements to carry handguns for self-defense in other states. This will help residents of other states that do not have good reciprocity laws for their permits, so that those law-abiding citizens will have more states in which they may lawfully carry firearms for personal protection when they travel to them. Those who wish to take advantage of this option will pay application fees to West Virginia and seek training from West Virginian instructors.

The state of Wyoming also improved its existing gun permitless-carry law this spring when Governor Mark Gordon signed legislation that extended the law to include all law-abiding adults. The old law applied only to residents of Wyoming who had lived in the state for at least six months.

The American people will not sit idly by and presume the government will be their only line of defense if they feel their safety is in jeopardy. Every month has seen a new record for the sale of firearms in the United States since 2020 and last year’s totals surpassed the old record for annual firearm sales.

This all happened in spite of some states with anti-gun governors who tried to shut down gun stores as “non-essential”, or when those states that mandate their own intrusion into firearm transactions slowed down the processing of required paperwork due to self-imposed staff shortages or closed offices.

Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming all passed bills that seek to ensure that the 2nd Amendment (the right to bear arms) is not suspended during a declared state of emergency. These states passed protections for law-abiding gun owners during such times, as well as for gun stores, gun ranges and other entities that engage in the lawful selling or servicing of firearms, components or accessories.
There are still opportunities and time remaining for states to continue the push to advance our gun rights protected by the 2nd Amendment, as several states remain in session right now.

Jack Danchak is a longtime sportsmen and spent 30 years as the President of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.

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