National reciprocity is an idea whose time has come. It is unconscionable that the Second Amendment right to protect oneself and loved ones evaporates merely by crossing a state line.
Oregon became the latest battleground for this volatile issue when Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) sued a city and county over denying carry rights to law-abiding citizens who happen to live elsewhere.
The defendants are the city of Salem and Marion County, and the federal lawsuit seeks to dismantle their gun control apparatuses suppressing the freedom of lawful gun owners to carry concealed.
Oregon effectively denies carry rights to nonresidents
GOA posted an announcement of the legal action on Facebook.
“Oregon law prevents most nonresidents from obtaining a concealed handgun license, while allowing localities to restrict open carry, effectively denying many Americans the ability to legally carry a firearm for self-defense while visiting the state,” the gun rights organization declared.
Ladd v. Hunter features Arizona resident Cynthia Ladd as a plaintiff along with the gun rights groups. She holds carry permits in two states, but while traveling to Oregon for work, authorities deny her the freedom to carry a firearm, concealed or open.
SCOTUS and the Constitution are not ambiguous on carry rights
The complaint is clear in its reliance on U.S. Supreme Court precedent to defend gun owners away from home. In Heller, the high court reaffirmed that Second Amendment protections are enjoyed by “all Americans.”
“And in NY State Rifle and Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, the Court unambiguously held that this ‘guarantee’ includes ‘a right to bear arms in public for self-defense,” the complaint affirms.
Meanwhile, the Beaver State and its local jurisdictions deny this freedom for “those who are not residents of Oregon or residents of a contiguous state—to carry a concealed handgun at all.”
Under Oregon law, to obtain a concealed handgun license, a person must be a resident of the state or one of its bordering neighbors, including Washington, California, Idaho, and Nevada.
The applicant must rely on the local sheriff for permission, and many withhold this right from anyone who does not work or own property in their jurisdiction.
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