2A Newsletter: Week of April 7th

Florida becomes 26th state to allow constitutional carry

Photo Source: Ben Lopez

On Monday morning this week, Florida became the 26th state to allow the concealed carry of firearms without the need for a government issued permit. Governor DeSantis signed CS/HB 543 into law and that new law will go into effect on July 1, 2023! After consecutive years of not being able to pass a permitless carry law, Florida has now become the majority state, marking the 26th state to have Constitutional Carry legislation.

When it comes to concealed carrying, having a license to do so is always going to be more safe than without. What do we mean by that? It's different in each state, but usually those with CCW's (concealed carry weapon permit) or LTC's (license to carry) are afforded more legal leeway in terms of where they're allowed to carry and who can accost them if they're caught carrying. There's also the Brady Exemption which comes in handy when buying guns.

For example, in Texas, if you get caught carrying in a store or establishment that has a "no guns" sign they legally have the right to hold you there until the police arrive. At which point, having the LTC will be much more helpful in getting you out of that sticky situation. Whereas, if this happened to you and you didn't have a LTC, you could easily get into trouble with the law. USCCA does a much better job of explaining the boundaries and limits of Constitutional Carry so check out their resources if you'd like to be more familiar with those rules. 

Despite all that, the reason gun rights activists support Constitutional Carry is because we see it as a basic right to self-defense and it eliminates the financial barrier that may impede some from being able to carry a firearm for the sake of their own protection. It would be great if everyone could have a baseline amount of training. But not everyone can afford the classes, licensing fees, fingerprinting (livescan) fees, etc. The next time you have an anti-gun friend comment about that you can tell them that we should bring back basic firearms education in schools then (could be JROTC, shooting teams, or one of the NRA sponsored programs).

Technically, this law is not "true" Constitutional Carry. Per the new law, Floridians can't openly carry a firearm in the state yet - although some Florida representatives have tried to amend the bill to address that. But of course, we'll take the win! (A win is a win) next up we have South Carolina up to bat as they may be the 27th state to pass a permitless carry law. We predict that by the end of 2023 we'll see around 29 states in total with some form of Constitutional Carry. 

NICS Data Shows Gun Sales Still Continuing Strong

Photo Source: Kat Moy via Shutterstock

Even as anti-gun slander is continually perpetrated by the media, nationwide gun sales haven't slowed down. According to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), there has been over 1 million over the counter gun sales in America for 44 months in a row.

The NICS system is what everyone has to go through whenever getting a gun through a brick and mortar retailer or when doing a FFL transfer (basically anytime you're required to fill out a 4473 Form) i.e. a background check.

The unadjusted March 2023 FBI NICS total was 2,954,230 checks. After the data was sifted through by NSSF to remove checks and rechecks done for carry permits and other reasons, the number remained at 1,556,492. We've been seeing these kind of background checks/sales since July of 2019...

This sustained number of purchases shows that the average American still has not forgotten about their rights. It also means that the amount of people valuing their 2A rights is still steadily increasing despite what the media tells you otherwise. What can we say? Whether they know it or not, people tend to vote with their wallet. 

Biden and ATF Gaslights the public about ‘rogue’ gun dealers

Photo Source: Perry McLeod via Shutterstock

Businesses across the US holding FFL’s that sell firearms to the public are seemingly being targeted as seen by Biden’s Executive Order issued March 14. In this, Biden is doubling down on his “zero-tolerance policy” on FFL holders by revoking their licenses over minor clerical errors by “cit(ing) for violation of federal firearm laws.”

With the release of this Executive Order, the ATF released the names of businesses they put out of business in their Enhanced Regulatory Enforcement Policy as a... show of force? The ATF says the FFL’s were revoked for serious violations such as transferring a firearm to a prohibited person, falsifying records and failing to conduct a required background check.

However, in the revocation documents none of these reasons are actually listed. Of course, that didn't stop the stream of misinformation that's being releasing to the public. As many of you know, the process of obtaining a firearm usually REQUIRES a NICS background check in order to obtain any firearm from a federally licensed dealer.

This war on the Second Amendment relies on manipulation of the public perspective through the mainstream media. Support your local gun dealers and other organizations that fight for your rights. As we mentioned above, gun sales are not slowing down because people like you stand up for their rights.

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