Delegate Mark Cole of Virginia is seeking to end the requirement that individuals who carry concealed weapons obtain a permit to do so. Currently there are four states that allow a person to carry a concealed weapon without a permit: Vermont, Wyoming, Arizona and Alaska.
Concealed Carry laws vary among the states, with only a few not allowing for the practice in any circumstances. The trend has been for ever more liberal concealed carry laws in the United States and with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings upholding an individual right to keep and bear arms under Second Amendment the trend will likely continue.
A law-abiding citizen carrying a concealed weapon is doing so most often for protection. A requirement that someone obtain a permit to protect themselves from bodily harm or death seems antithetical to the ideals of personal liberty that our founders laid out in the Constitution. Criminals always go to great lengths to conceal their weapons, for a much different reason, and it is highly unlikely that they will possess a permit. Most bank robbers are not going to go the county courthouse to get a permit to carry a firearm. The same can be said for drug dealers, gang members, and other criminals. Requiring law- abiding citizens to obtain a permit puts the general public at a disadvantage by erecting a barrier between someone who could protect innocent bystanders and the means to do so.
In many states, including Virginia, it is legal to openly carry a firearm without a permit, which again points to the futility of requiring a permit to carry concealed. Openly carrying a firearm can be much more alarming to people and may lead to police involvement in many cases. A law abiding citizen is not going to bring about these types of concerns while carrying concealed.
Delegate Cole will likely be able to get the legislation passed in his chamber, but the Senate may be a tougher battle. Virginia gun owners will no doubt be letting their legislators know where they stand and gun owners everywhere should be paying attention. Advancing the right to keep and bear arms is a state by state battle many times, so a victory in Virginia may lead to greater rights for all gun owners down the road.
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