On March 18, 2022, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed SB 212 into law, eliminating all fees for concealed carry permits. Over the past few years, South Dakota has taken several steps to strengthen its residents' Second Amendment rights, including passing permitless carry, clarifying the "stand-your-ground" law, and, most recently, reducing fees for concealed carry permits to $0.
“Stand your ground,” one of the better known yet poorly understood self-defense policies, has received a lot of media and legal attention since its inception—most of which has been inaccurate or misconstrued.
Now that Governor Brian Kemp has signed the bill making permitless carry law for the state of Georgia, half the country is on board with dropping state licensing requirements to carry a gun. That’s a significant jump in a short period of time and a fantastic nod toward Second Amendment rights.
The Missouri House of Representatives recently passed new legislation that would further strengthen Missouri's Second Amendment rights. The bill, filed as HB 1462, garnered 101 Yeas and 40 Nays and would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry their guns while on publicly-funded transportation (with limited exceptions). In addition, the minimum age requirement for obtaining a Missouri concealed carry permit would be reduced from 19 years old to 18 years old. Concealed carry permit holders would also be able to carry into houses of worship. Finally, the legislation would criminalize celebratory gunfire in an effort to protect citizens from stray bullets.
The stated goal of this law is to ban untraceable firearms, or “ghost guns.” Though the Maryland House and Senate worked on simultaneous, competing bills, SB 387 won the day and passed both chambers on March 29, 2022. If signed by the Governor, it would prohibit a person from purchasing, receiving, selling, offering to sell, or transferring an unfinished frame or receiver unless federal law requires the frame or receiver to be imprinted with a serial number, and it has in fact been imprinted with a serial number.
Most gun owners know the basic process to purchase a firearm from a Federal Firearms Licensee (“FFL”). After deciding which firearm you want to buy, an FFL will run a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”).
For first-time gun buyers interested in self-defense, the questions surrounding how to get a concealed carry permit can be one of the most confusing parts of their self-defense journey. Complicating the matter further, there’s no standardized application process between all 50 states when it comes to how to get a concealed carry permit. There are even many states where the question of how to get a concealed carry permit isn’t even one that people have to ask themselves.
If you’ve ever listened to anyone talk about gun control, you’ve probably heard the term “Red Flag law” more times than you can count. But what actually are these laws? What do they accomplish that existing regulations don’t? Most importantly, how do Red Flag laws affect law-abiding people like you?
The Second Amendment of the Constitution, or the right to keep and bear arms, is one of 10 amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. Different interpretations of the Second Amendment have caused a long-running and heated argument over gun rights in America. But how did we get here? What is the point of the Second Amendment?
The Second Amendment protects and reinforces your right to bear arms. But what exactly is that right? How is it defined by the law? As the ultimate interpreter of American law, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) tells us what the Second Amendment does—and doesn’t—protect.Here’s a simplified breakdown of Second Amendment Supreme Court cases and their impact on our self-defense rights.
