The internet over the weekend proved that nothing is forgotten as President Donald Trump's nearly two-year-old video on concealed carry reciprocity swept social media anew.
Trump originally promised to bring about national concealed carry reciprocity as part of his 2016 presidential campaign but a bill, despite passing the House on a 231-198 roll call and having 40 co-sponsors in the Republican-controlled Senate, never made it out of Congress to Trump's desk.
During the campaign for office this current cycle, Trump, who is now slated to become the 47th president, released his Agenda 47 platform last February. In a series of short videos explaining the agenda, he addressed reciprocity once again as part of his seven-pointed crime plan.
The five-minute video capped with the carry talk as the seventh point.
Seventh, they will protect the right of self-defense everywhere it is under siege. And I will sign concealed carry reciprocity. Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line.
An edited 12-ish second clip from the 21-month-old video circled social media over the weekend in a variety of posts, calling it "breaking" and a "huge" move, garnering millions of views.
To be sure, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, (R-NC), who has continued to reintroduce his concealed carry reciprocity bill that originally died back in 2018, has won reelection and is seeking a second term as National Republican Congressional Committee Chair. Should the GOP win the House-- as of Monday morning, they had secured 214 of 218 needed seats and are leading in at least eight undecided races-- it is likely Hudson's reciprocity could once again pass that body in 2025.
That would cue it up for an uphill battle to get 60 votes in the Senate to defeat a likely Democrat filibuster attempt so that it could reach Trump's desk next term. As of Monday, it looks like the Republicans only have 52 or 53 depending on how you read the ballot returns.
Further, some 2A advocates argue even such a move, if it made it into law and was upheld by the courts despite likely challenges from states like California and New York, would fall far short of nationwide constitutional, or permitless, carry. Of note, in 2016 when Trump was running for office the first time, just 10 states recognized permitless carry. Today, that has grown to 29, showing just how much the needle on the concept has moved.
Banner image: A Magnum Research Desert Eagle .50AE, just sitting around being American. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
