Sen. Mike Lee is moving to expand gun-carry rights across the United States with legislation that would allow eligible Americans to carry concealed firearms without needing a permit.
According to Fox News, the Utah Republican plans to introduce the National Constitutional Carry Act, a proposal aimed at removing several requirements tied to concealed carry permits, including licensing fees and certain criminal penalties connected to carrying a firearm in public.
Lee said the bill is intended to reinforce what he believes is a nationwide constitutional protection.
“The Founders established a national right to keep and bear arms, not to ask for permission from hostile local officials or risk imprisonment for crossing the wrong state line,” Lee said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The legislation would apply to Americans who are already legally permitted to own firearms under federal law.
Lee added that many states have already adopted similar policies.
“Many states already protect the right to carry without a permit, and it’s time to reaffirm this right for all law-abiding Americans,” he continued. “The National Constitutional Carry Act will establish nationwide permitless carry to keep America safe and her people free.”
At present, 29 states allow some form of “constitutional carry,” meaning residents can carry a concealed firearm without obtaining a permit from the state.
Lee’s bill would extend that concept nationwide. Under the proposal, state and local governments would be barred from requiring licenses or permits that impose fees or other conditions on people carrying firearms in public if they are otherwise legally eligible to possess a gun.
The measure would also prevent states from criminalizing public carry for those individuals.
However, the legislation would maintain several existing restrictions. Private property owners would still be allowed to prohibit firearms on their premises, and bans on guns in certain secured areas — such as government buildings with security screening — would remain in place.
Individuals who are not legally allowed to own firearms would also remain prohibited from carrying them.
A similar proposal was introduced in the House in 2024 by Rep. Thomas Massie, but did not become law.
Lee’s measure already has the backing of gun-rights groups, including the National Association for Gun Rights and Gun Owners of America.
The National Association for Gun Rights praised the proposal, calling it “the only legislation that will restore the right of all law-abiding Americans to carry a firearm in every state without having to beg for government permission.”
Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, also voiced support.
“In a time of war, Americans cannot afford to have the right to bear arms delayed by arbitrary state permitting processes,” Pratt said, referencing the conflict involving Iran.
“Public safety is threatened not only by ordinary criminals but also by bad actors working for foreign adversaries, and Americans need to be armed for the security of our free state,” Pratt said.
