Where does the 2nd amendment apply?

While watching what was happening in the media this week, always an entertaining pass time, several stories that relate to the 2nd amendment, gun  rights and the shooting sports have arisen which have lead to me receiving some interesting questions online, and even a visit from a
film crew for Channel 3.

Earlier this year, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., introduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, which would allow individuals with concealed-carry privileges in their state of residence to exercise those rights in any other state while abiding by that state’s laws. Now not having given it much thought before this week, except for trying to keep abreast of which states have reciprocity with the US, I never made the mental leap to compare CCW permits to driving licenses.

Think about this. The driving tests throughout the US are different, which each having it's own unique requirements and tests. In Europe, that is even more apparent, with tests in some countries requiring no more that drive a straight line backwards and forwards, right up to the UK, where tests can be hours long, and require 45 hours of lessons to give you a fighting chance of passing.

Yet with all the disparate requirements from the states here, and even different countries in Europe, you are free to drive coast to coast, without having to worry about not having the licence issued by the state/country you are driving through, so long as you don't break the laws of the locality that you find yourself in.

So why is it if I drive 200 miles West, carrying my usual unspectacular self defence weaponry, I could find myself in prison for a number of years? Why is it that if I take a flight that routes through New York, and check-in my gun, when changing planes in New York, I could find myself on the wrong end of a lengthy jail term?

Whilst individual states have different laws re guns, can it be right that simply possessing one in some parts of the country will lead to your incarceration a not inconsiderable length of time? Surely, as with driving licences, the more basic tenets of the 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms should be available to all those for whom gun ownership is legal, from coast to coast?

And while thinking about that, the news about the shooting at Walgreens appeared on my newsfeed, followed by the road rage story, a call from Channel 3, and numerous emails from customers and Facebook messages, all wanting to know whether the Walgreens and road rage shootings were legal.

Now to ask that question is similar to asking whether it's you should brake for an amber light when you are 20 feet from the crossing, it all depends. In cases like those above, there are a great many factors that determine whether you should take action with your firearm, or even whether you should take any action at all, it all depends on the circumstances. And that leads me onto my next point, that loosely connects with my previous point.

Although Arizona is a constitutional carry state, and you are not under any obligation to do so, why would you now take the class, and apply for a CCW permit? The cost is minimal, but the amount of information you will receive is HUGE, and could save your life and liberty, why would you not do it....


Link to story about country wide CCW permits

Walgreens shooting

Roadrage in Arizona