Want to carry a firearm in as many states as possible? As one firearms instructor is warning, be prepared to travel and shell out some money.
Since the 2022 landmark NYSRPA v. Bruen decision, every jurisdiction in the United States was forced to issue carry permits or licenses on a “shall-issue” basis. Essentially the Supreme Court said: “The peasants shall be allowed to have their pitchforks.” But what does it take to have your pitchfork in every state of the Union? Depending on where you live is going to depend on how far you can get. Firearms instructor and YouTuber Reid Henrichs and his wife started a journey to see if they can get enough permits to carry everywhere in the U.S. Spoiler alert, they can’t; but they’ve gotten close.
Through an exclusive interview with friend to Bearing Arms, Jared Yanis from Guns & Gadgets, Henrichs talked about the process. Henrichs is known for his training company Valor Ridge which is located in Harrogate, Tenn. In the interview, he said that he was utilizing his “down time,” — when he’s not running a training schedule — to jump through all the hoops to get as many permits as possible.
Looking at the basics, right off the bat, there are 29 permitless carry states — or “constitutional carry” states, as some like to call it. Between those 29 states and whatever reciprocity agreements a permitted or licensed carrier might be blessed by, yes, the majority of the country is covered. But not the whole country and looking at the Bill of Rights, there’s no mention of any qualifiers about state of residence — or any permit or license for that matter.
“So number one, before anybody out there thinks that you or I agree with permits, full stop. We don’t agree with [having to have permits],” Henrichs explained. “This is a begrudging thing that we’re doing because my wife and I are willingly doing this — to undergo the process — because for any legal remedy, you have to show injury.”
Henrichs has what’s called an enhanced Tennessee handgun carry permit. Further, the permits the Henrichs and his wife have are lifetime permits. “Right now, with our Tennessee enhanced carry permit, we can carry in … 38 states already,” Henrichs said. “But there are a few left. Now, legally, we can carry in 41 because of open carry.”
In both the State of Washington and Oregon non-permitted open carry is allowed. Concealed carry? Not without the proper licenses. There’s a slight rub here, as the state of Oregon does not issue non-resident carry permits to people who do not reside in a state that borders it. But with the open carry provisions of Oregon’s law — paired with the State of Washington’s — that leaves nine states for Henrichs to seek permitting solutions.
Besides Oregon’s weird non-resident permitting requirements, Illinois also has some strange qualifiers. “Illinois does not issue non-resident permits to anybody outside of six states,” Henrichs explained. “Those six states are: Nevada, Idaho, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, and Virginia.”
That takes Illinois off the table.
Joining Illinois as a state that Henrichs won’t be able to carry in is Hawaii. “Hawaii does not offer non-residents permits; full stop,” Henrichs said. “You can’t carry there because they A. Don’t have reciprocity with any states. And B. There is no non-resident option.”
The states that remained where Henrichs sought permits were California, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. None of those states offer reciprocity to any other state, something Henrichs reiterated several times when talking to Yanis.
Between permitting fees, training, photographs, etc., Henrichs said it cost him about $500.00 to get a permit in California. The process in New Jersey cost about $600.00. “It would take several hundred dollars and in-person fingerprinting just to be able to apply for your non-resident Maryland permit,” Henrichs noted.
For New York, it’s important to note that if someone has a permit issued outside of the five boroughs of New York City, their permit is not good within the boroughs. Anyone who lives outside the city limits but wishes to exercise their Second Amendment right within the city would need an additional permit.
“New York City’s permit is exceptionally expensive, $388 [for a] three-year permit, plus $88 fingerprinting,” Henrichs said. “So we’re over $400 plus the 16 [hour] class that you have to do in New York — not the same … class as California; same amount of time though. I’ve seen it average around the New York area — that class is $400 to $500.”
In order to apply for a New York City carry permit applicants have to do so in person at 1 Police Plaza in midtown Manhattan.
The cost of the Connecticut permit came to roughly $150.00 not including training which was essentially covered from previous classes. “The renewal is $70, but it’s good for five years,” Henrichs noted. “But … it all adds up, you know? So Connecticut was pretty easy overall.”
“Rhode Island [has] managed to remain a may-issue state,” Henrichs explained. “Because what you have to do is as a non-resident you have to apply to the attorney general’s office there.” There’s a packet that needs to be filled out and sent back to the AG’s office that includes proof of practical qualification and training.
Rhode Island, the smallest state, “was the biggest pain in the rear, because they have you have to have six references — like individual references.” Three of those references need to provide notarized letters.
“On the application, you have to provide a reason for carry … you have to show a need,” Henrichs said. “So my need was ‘I do not want to be arrested driving through your state while exercising my rights.’ I don’t know if that will be accepted or not, but that’s what I wrote.”
Technically speaking Rhode Island is not the only other remaining may-issue state. New Jersey has “public, health, safety, and welfare” and “proper temperament” suitability requirements. Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, and California have “good moral character” requirements.
Provisions in the laws that maintain subjective standards are still abused by issuing authorities and will have to eventually be revisited by the High Court. (The majority of New Jersey’s permit-to-carry application denials are using an illegal non-criminal subjective standard.)
Obtaining a Massachusetts non-resident license to carry is onerous. The license is considered a temporary permit and is only good for one year. The regular resident license to carry is good for five years. Non residents have to apply for their license in person at Chelsea, Mass. by appointment only.
“So we have to drive to Chelsea, Massachusetts, which for us is nearly a 15-hour one-way [drive], 30 hour round trip to go up there and get this,” Henrichs told Yanis. “And there’s no wiggle room there. They do not care if you’re disabled, they do not care how far away you are. You have to appear in Chelsea in person for that interview, and you may be required to do that every year.”
Applying for all of the noted permits cost Henrichs and his wife about $5,000.00. To maintain the permits they have been issued, they estimate it will cost about $500.00 each annually — a grand for their household.
When the majority opinion in NYSRPA v. Bruen stated that some permitting schemes are likely constitutional, were they thinking about this scenario? “Because any permitting scheme can be put toward abusive ends, we do not rule out constitutional challenges to shall-issue regimes where, for example, lengthy wait times in processing license applications or exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry,” is noted in footnote #9.
Does the process that Henrichs described “prevent ‘law-abiding, responsible citizens’ from exercising their Second Amendment right to public carry”?
At the end of this ordeal, when all the applications are either processed or denied, the best case scenario for Henrichs and his wife would be the ability to conceal carry in about 46 states and open carry in two. After over $2,500.00 each in fees and expenses, and thousands of miles traveled, it’s going to be quite a burden to meet and explain how this is constitutional.
To catch Henrichs and Yanis’ full interview, you can check it out HERE or in the embed below:
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
Help us continue to report on and expose the Democrats’ gun control policies and schemes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.
Read the full article here
