The Associated Press is not a friend of ours. John “More Guns, Less Crime” Lott exposed their anti-gun animus in his 2003 opus The Bias Against Guns. The news service has dialed it back in the last decade or so — as numerous firearms-related factual errors have been exposed. But here’s another one . . .
In a story about Constitutional or “permitless” carry moving through the New Hampshire legislative process — headlined Gov. Sununu Likely to Sign Concealed Carry Bill at nbcboston.com— the AP wrote that “The National Rifle Association says concealed carry is legal in 11 states, including Maine and Vermont.”
The problem: the AP left out an important qualifier. That is “permitless.” Permitless concealed carry is legal in 11 states, including Maine and Vermont.
To be clear, concealed carry is allowed in all 50 states. Thirty-one states are “shall issue”; concealed carry permits must be issued if an applicant isn’t a felon or otherwise prohibited. Eleven states are “permitless” or Constitutional carry; no permit is required to carry a firearm openly or concealed.
Eight states are “may issue.” A governmental authority has the power to issue or not issue permits, according to the authority’s definition of the applicant’s “need” to carry. Several states have such a high bar that they are virtual no-issue states, such as Hawaii, New Jersey and Maryland.
The Associated Press was once considered a reliable news source. Yet when it comes to guns, they often get simple facts wrong. Facts about guns they could easily Google. It will be interesting to see if they correct this one.
©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.