The ongoing fight between Pennsylvania state representative Frank Burns (D-District 74) and gun rights groups continues. Burns said he only voted against an amendment that would have required the anti-gun Speaker of the House to send House Bill 454, Constitutional Carry of a Firearm, to the floor for a vote. Key opponents claim he used a procedural trick to scuttle permitless carry in the Keystone State.
While acknowledging his 15 years of support for gun rights, the Gun Owners of America announced it is withdrawing its endorsement of Burns. GOA had previously demanded that Burns resign from the House Second Amendment Caucus.
The truth is out there, somewhere. However, constitutional carry was dead the moment it was filed, months before Burns’ vote.
While Republicans won a three-seat majority in the 2024 elections, they wound up with a one-vote deficit in the House.
Had Burns voted with the Republicans on the amendment and the floor vote, the bill very likely would have passed in the Senate – and then everything would end.
Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro has already said he would veto this bill: There’s no way Republicans could marshal a two-thirds supermajority in the Pennsylvania House to override it.
A similar roadblock faces constitutional carry in North Carolina. Democratic Governor Josh Stein has pledged to veto permitless carry in the Tar Heel State.
Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry North Carolina, has passed the Senate, been sent to the House, and has been languishing in the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operation of the House since March 25.
Republicans hold the majority of seats in both chambers. There are enough Republicans in the Senate to easily override a veto, but the GOP comes up nine seats short in the House. Without the firm commitment of nine Democrats, the bill might as well sit in committee until the legislature adjourns on July 31.
All of the low-hanging fruit has been plucked; expanding constitutional carry beyond the 29 states that already have it will be challenging.
The best option is action at the federal level. However, Senate Bill 65, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, introduced with much fanfare by Texas Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary on January 9, where it has stayed ever since.
House Resolution 38, the House version of the same bill, has fared far better. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-9) introduced it on January third and it currently has 183 cosponsors. It was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. On March 25, the committee considered it and sent an amended version for consideration by the full House of Representatives.
If the House approves it, the next stop is the Senate, where the House and Senate versions will need to be reconciled while Senate majority leadership tries to persuade resident RINOs Susan Collins (R?-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R?-AK) to vote with the majority and convince seven Democrats to join in. Otherwise, it will fall to the filibuster.
Making the bold assumption it passes the Senate and is signed by President Trump, SB 65/HR 38 is a very good bill, even if it falls slightly short of nationwide permitless carry, because it will be fun to see the reactions of Kathy Hochul, Phil Murphy, JB Pritzker, and Gavin Newsom, to name a few.
There’s also House Resolution 645, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY-4) on January 23 and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary the same day. Massie’s bill was a moon shot which would have made true permitless carry the law of the land. It would be very unlikely to get unanimous support from even the Republicans.
Constitutional carry and the nationwide acceptance of our right to keep and bear arms are important issues affecting millions of Americans. However, there’s no easy path.
Constitutional carry or even just mandatory permit reciprocity can’t be added to a must-pass budget reconciliation; they aren’t financial issues. This means we have to keep up the pressure. Keep making contact with your representatives and senators: We know it works.
About Bill Cawthon
Bill Cawthon first became a gun owner 55 years ago and has been an active advocate for Americans’ civil liberties for more than a decade. He is the information director for the Second Amendment Society of Texas.
