Ahead of Markup, Brady Calls on House Judiciary Committee to Oppose Deadly Concealed Carry Mandate to Allow Hidden, Loaded Firearms in Public

The Concealed Carry Reciprocity (CCR) Act would allow unlicensed and untrained people from other states to carry loaded weapons in public — regardless of a state’s pre-existing regulations.

Washington, D.C., March 25, 2025 — Today, the House Judiciary Committee will mark up a slate of dangerous gun bills, including legislation that will create a concealed carry mandate, rendering a state’s efforts to restrict untrained, unvetted, and unlicensed individuals from carrying hidden firearms obsolete. This suite of legislation, and specifically the concealed carry mandate, has been on the gun industry’s wish list for decades and is one of the largest threats to public safety in recent memory.  

Brady, the nation’s leading gun violence prevention organization, calls on Rep. Jim Jordan and his colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee to oppose this package of bills and prioritize the suite of policy solutions we have at our disposal — such as expanded Brady Background Checks — that are proven to reduce America’s gun violence crisis, not increase it. 

President of Brady, Kris Brown, said:

“In America, you are 26 times more likely to be shot and killed than people in other high-income countries. A concealed carry mandate would dramatically increase this likelihood of violence by allowing a mass of untrained, unlicensed individuals to carry hidden, loaded guns in public, without so much as a background check.

Want to enjoy a day in the park with your children? Take a bus ride to the library? Under this concealed carry mandate, a hidden firearm would become your constant companion at these places and more. You won’t always be able to see it, or even know it’s there, but the possibility will always be present — no matter where you are. 

This mandate — and the host of bills accompanying it — is a clear recipe for disaster, and the American people will pay the price in lives. States with permitless carry laws already see higher rates of gun violence, including a 29% increase in violent gun crime. That’s why this bill is opposed by the nation’s law enforcement officers, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police. And worst of all, there will be no turning back after a life is lost because guns allowed a public confrontation to turn deadly. 

This is not the dangerous, dystopian future that the majority of Americans want or deserve. Three in 4 Americans, including the majority of Republicans and gun owners, oppose this lethal mandate. This legislation is about one thing and one thing alone: implementing a guns everywhere agenda and chasing gun industry profits. Brady calls on members of the House Judiciary Committee to take a stand against the relentless pursuit of profit and put the lives of Americans above all else by rejecting this legislation.”