Questions and Answers: Public Carry of Firearms, Permitless Carry and Stand Your Ground Laws
Cass Crifasi, PhD ‘14, MPH, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, and Alex McCourt, JD, PhD ‘19, MPH, core faculty member at the Center answer frequently asked questions about regulating the public carry of firearms and the risks associated with permitless carry and Stand Your Ground laws.
Why should the public carry of firearms be regulated?
Strong public carry laws minimize harm from firearm violence. Regulating public carry is associated with lower rates of crimes by firearms. When those regulations are removed, we see more harm take place. Regulating the public carry of firearms helps ensure the safety of all people in public places. There are great risks for public safety when states have weak public carry legislation. Permissive open and concealed carry laws are promoted as making it easier for individuals to defend themselves against crime, but these laws have been shown to increase firearm violence.
In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that individuals have a right to carry a firearm for self-defense outside of the home. However, states still maintain the ability to regulate guns in public through strong concealed carry permitting requirements, restrictions on open carry, and self-defense laws that require a duty to retreat before using deadly force if safe retreat is possible.
How does the deregulation of public carry laws lead to more violence, including firearm homicides and shootings by police?
There are serious safety concerns when there are increased interactions with people armed with firearms in public spaces. A analysis by researchers at the Center determined that state shall-issue concealed carry laws were, on average, associated with a 29 percent higher rate of firearm workplace homicides. Permissive open and concealed carry laws can escalate firearm violence by potentially allowing individuals with histories of violence to carry firearms in public. This causes two major issues. First, it creates more opportunities for armed intimidation and shootings during heated encounters. Something that might have ended with a shouting match, turns deadly. Second, these laws increase the risk of criminals stealing guns from vehicles that could be used in crimes. A study by Center researchers found lax public carry laws were also linked to changes in shootings by police. They found shootings increased by 12.9 percent in 10 states that relaxed concealed carry restrictions between 2014 and 2020.
What is a concealed carry law? Why should the concealed carry of firearms be regulated?
Concealed carry laws regulate who can carry a loaded, concealed handgun in public, and where they can carry it in public spaces. Broadly speaking, the law outlines the process of getting a permit to carry a concealed firearm, although the framework for these laws differs from state-to-state. Currently, all states allow for some form of concealed carry and in over half of all states, individuals can carry a loaded gun in some public places with no permit at all. In the past decade, there has been a rapid shift toward deregulating concealed carry. More states are moving away from requiring permits in favor of permitless carry, and some of the strongest laws face litigation.
What are the consequences of repealing concealed carry laws and permitting requirements?
Repealing concealed carry laws is harmful to public safety. By removing concealed carry requirements, we lose important safety measures that are part of the permitting process. Safety measures in these laws not only ensure prohibited individuals are not allowed to carry firearms, but also that those with firearms in public are trained on how to carry them, when to use them, and how to properly store them. Obtaining a permit requires an application process, which typically includes a background check, firearm training courses, and fingerprinting.
For a long time, there were higher standards for carrying firearms in public. Repealing requirements lowers this baseline standard. A study conducted by our team found significant increases in firearm assaults in states that relaxed concealed carry permit restrictions. We examined what happened when 34 states weakened restrictions on concealed carry and found that weakening the laws was associated with a 9.5 percent increase in firearm assaults.
Center researchers also found that concealed carry permitting laws, which required live firearm training, and allowed permits to be denied if the applicant was convicted of a violent misdemeanor, were associated with reductions in violence. The study found that when states adopted permitless carry and stopped requiring live firearm training, they experienced a 32 percent increase in gun assaults. When states lost their ability to deny a concealed carry permit to someone convicted of a violent misdemeanor, they also experienced increases in gun assaults.
Why do law enforcement tend to support concealed carry licensing?
We have generally seen broad support for concealed carry licensing by law enforcement officers. Requiring individuals to obtain a concealed carry license makes their jobs easier and less dangerous. With strong laws in place, when law enforcement officers are interacting with the public, they can check if individuals have a license to conceal carry their firearm in public. Without the ability to verify a person's permit status, officers may need to conduct a background check on the spot, which could delay necessary action and put people at risk if immediate intervention is required.
The vast majority of Americans also agree that concealed carry licensing should be required. The 2023 national survey of gun policy found that only 23% of Americans support allowing a person who can legally own a gun to carry a loaded, concealed handgun in public without having to obtain a concealed carry license.
What is an open carry law? Why should the open carry of firearms be regulated?
An open carry law regulates when and where an individual can carry a firearm that is visible to others in public spaces. In most states, people are allowed to openly carry a firearm in public places without first obtaining a permit. Guidelines on openly carrying a firearm are essential to effectively safeguard public safety. Regulating open carry can be beneficial when instituted in spaces that can have a potential for violence, such as protests and sports venues. States should also regulate the open carry of firearms in sensitive places like polling places, government buildings, and in places where open carry can intimidate and chill free speech. Several states have implemented place-based firearms limitations in political spaces.
Why should Stand Your Ground laws be repealed?
Stand Your Ground laws remove the duty that individuals have to retreat before using deadly force. Typically, individuals have an obligation to remove themselves from situations where they can safely and easily retreat, unless they are inside of their home. In contrast, these laws state that you can use deadly force anywhere, if you feel threatened in any way, outside of the home. Stand Your Ground laws allow people to avoid criminal prosecution for the use of deadly force even when the person could safely retreat.
Deadly force should be a last resort. Instead, these laws can escalate conflicts and are associated with increases in firearm violence. Research demonstrates firearm violence is higher where Stand Your Ground laws are enacted. A study examining 23 states that passed Stand Your Ground laws found that passage of these laws was linked to an 8 to 11 percent increase in the monthly gun homicide rate, translating to an additional 700-gun deaths each year.
Are public carry laws constitutional? How are they standing up to court challenges?
Laws regulating public carry have been found to be constitutional. While the New York State Rifle Association v. Bruen decision from the Supreme Court struck down a provision that required permit applicants to provide a good reason for carrying in public, it also said that requiring a license to carry a gun in public based on objective criteria was constitutional. These licensing requirements can include safety training and fingerprint-based background checks as long as states issue a license to anyone who is not legally prohibited.
