It's Now Legal to Carry a Gun WITHOUT a Permit in 50% of the United States

On January 1st, we rung in the New Year and, with it, a variety of legislation regarding things like minimum wages and concealed firearms. With the latter, we've officially passed the threshold of 50% when it comes to states that don't require a permit to carry a gun.

Last year, Alabama passed a law allowing people to carry concealed handguns without state permits. As of the first of the year, that law is now in effect. And, while many calls for gun safety legislation still loudly echo across the country, this change illuminates. how gun rights have expanded over the past 20 years,

Over a decade ago, in 2010, only two states allowed people to carry guns without a permit. In the 13 years since, almost 24 states have followed suit--11 of which have only happened within the last 3 years, according to The Huffington Post. This is a sobering fact when juxtaposed with the fact that there have been more mass shootings in the last half decade than in any other five-year period in US history, going all the way back to 1966, according to research revealed last year by The Marshall Project.

You probably didn't need data to conclude that states with weaker gun laws suffer higher homicide rates, but the Center for American Progress conducted a recent study that led them to the same conclusion. But the facts have a foe--the pro-gun lobby, headed by the National Rifle Association. Alabama lawmakers in particular faced great pressure from the NRA and other pro-gun advocate groups to pass the new law.

However, the issue proved popular politically for Republicans across the United States in the 2022 Midterms, with over 100 television ads using guns, as either talking points or "visual motifs", last year, according to analysis by The New York Times.

During her re-election campaign, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey highlighted her support for the law in what became a viral ad that seems nowhere to be found on her Team Ivey YouTube channel today.

In the ad, Ivey sits at her desk at the Alabama Capitol. "Lipstick, iPhone, maybe a little Smith & Wesson .38," she says, as she pulls each item from her bag.

Last year, despite opposition from the Department of Justice, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects an individual's right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense in a 6-3 decision that has effectively expanded Second Amendment Rights, as exemplified by the new Alabama law [along with 23 corresponding laws in other states].