4 – 2 – 2016
On July 1, 2016, permitless concealed carry becomes the law in Idaho. We become the ninth state to recognize this method of legally carrying a concealed firearm. West Virginia’s permitless carry law, passed earlier this month, takes effect June 5, 2016.
The new law applies to anyone who is not already disqualified from owning and carrying a firearm. That has not changed.
The open carrying of a firearm by law-abiding individuals is legal throughout the state. That has not changed.
There are certain enumerated locations where firearms cannot be legally carried; public or private schools, court houses, jails, etc. That has not changed.
Prior to the enacting of this law, law-abiding individuals who are 18 years of age and older were allowed to legally carry concealed firearms outside city limits without a permit. That has not changed.
Prior to the enactment of this law those who chose to legally carry openly or those who chose to carry without a permit, outside city limits were not required to undergo any government-mandated formal training. That has not changed, and has been the law for over a century.
What HAS changed is that now a law-abiding, adult Idahoan who chooses to carry a concealed firearm for personal protection does not have to worry about entering an incorporated city and suddenly finding themselves in a jurisdiction where it is illegal. How is anyone expected to know when he is traversing in and out of some unmarked city’s boundary as he drives through town? Not every road leading into every city is clearly marked. What this law does is remove the checkerboard application of our rights to be legally armed.
Now the law does not change at a city boundary.
Other states with permitless concealed carry are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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