A gun owner with a valid carry permit in one state can still be arrested for carrying the same handgun a few miles away in another. That gap sits at the center of a federal bill that has waited a year for a House floor vote, and of two federal lawsuits filed against Denver and the state of Colorado this fall.
How reciprocity works now
There is no national concealed carry permit. Each state decides which out-of-state licenses, if any, it will honor, and those agreements vary widely. According to RAND figures cited by IssueVoter's review of the federal bill, 29 states allowed permitless carry as of January 1, 2025, while 21 states and Washington, D.C., still required a permit.
Federal law gives travelers one narrow protection. The safe passage provision, 18 U.S.C. 926A, lets a person who may lawfully possess a gun transport it through a state with stricter rules, as long as the trip runs between two places where possession is legal. The gun must be unloaded and kept out of reach of the passenger compartment, or locked in a container other than the glove compartment or console when the vehicle has no separate trunk.
That protection covers transport. It does not authorize carrying a loaded handgun for self-defense in a state that does not recognize the traveler's permit.
The bill in Congress
The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, H.R. 38, sponsored by Rep. Richard Hudson, would change that. The House Judiciary Committee approved it 18 to 9 along party lines on March 25, 2025. It was placed on the House Union Calendar in October 2025 and has not received a floor vote.
Under the reported text, as summarized by IssueVoter, a person who is not barred from having a gun under federal law, carries a valid photo ID and either holds a carry permit or may legally carry in their home state could carry a concealed handgun in any other state that allows concealed carry. Private property owners could still ban guns. The bill would also limit when police may arrest or detain someone over gun possession and would let people sue when their rights under the act are violated.
Hudson has argued that "our Second Amendment right does not disappear when we cross invisible state lines." Opponents read the bill very differently. Everytown for Gun Safety says the bill "guts our gun laws and tramples on states' rights, putting everyone at risk," and argues that "there is no nationwide system for verifying out-of-state carry permits." The Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police have also urged Congress to reject it, according to IssueVoter.
The fight moves to Denver
While the bill waits, gun rights groups are testing the question in court. Colorado issues concealed handgun permits only to residents and honors another state's permit only when that state reciprocates. Denver also bans open carry. The National Rifle Association and the Colorado State Shooting Association sued Denver in a case announced August 31, Howeth v. City and County of Denver, on behalf of members from Hawaii and South Carolina, arguing the rules together leave qualified nonresidents no lawful way to carry a handgun in the city.
A second case, Hoffman v. City and County of Denver, was filed September 29 by the Firearms Policy Coalition and Gene Hoffman, a California resident. The group filed an amended complaint on October 6, raising a Second Amendment claim and a challenge under the Constitution's Privileges and Immunities Clause. No response from Denver or Colorado had been reported. Both cases are at an early stage.
At the Supreme Court, the justices on October 5 denied review in Johnson v. Jacobson, a petition challenging state firearm license reciprocity rules. It was one of 48 gun-related petitions turned away on the first day of the new term.
For now, the rule for travelers is the same as it has been. Whether a permit is good depends on the law of the state where the gun is carried, not the state that issued it. Carrying between states, and the mistakes gun owners make when they do, came up on Episode 70, when Daniel Rosenberg, Michael Dye and Larry Schweiker took on stand your ground and open carry.
Two Taps News stories summarize reporting and the analysis discussed on Two Taps and Friends. They are not legal advice. Read our standards.
