Fifteen states already allow concealed carry without a permit, and lawmakers in nine others have proposed allowing or expanding the practice.
Against that backdrop, the efforts to loosen concealed carry requirements are a frightening trend for Shannon Watts, founder of the gun control group Moms Demand Action.
He pointed to a multistate study published in 2018 by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons that found loosening concealed carry permit laws didn’t lead to more homicides or violent crime.
In Montana, the House recently passed a bill to allow people to carry concealed firearms without a permit in most places.
Similar bills that would allow or expand concealed carry without a permit have been introduced in Texas, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Georgia.