Could States Finally Be Forced To Recognize Out-Of-State Carry Permits

Many anti-Second Amendment groups cite the licensing of drivers and registration of cars to justify why they back similar procedures for guns, but there is one big difference: A driver’s license is recognized in all 50 states, but the same is not true for concealed-carry permits, but that could change as early as this Supreme Court term.

While a majority of states either have “constitutional carry” or universally recognize permits from other states, ten states reject permits issued by some or all other states, which led to a series of lawsuits, including one that could be heard by the Supreme Court. The Daily Caller News Foundation asked attorneys and organizations representing plaintiffs about lawsuits seeking to force the recognition of out-of-state permits, which have mostly focused on allegations that the refusal to recognize out-of-state permits violates the Second Amendment.

“In the Eighth Circuit’s view, an individual’s Second Amendment rights are confined to the borders of the state of where he holds a firearm permit,” Liberty Justice Center argued in its Aug. 24 petition to the high court. “No matter how many times an ordinary law-abiding citizen proves his worth through a state’s firearm licensing process, another state can force him to do it again before he can exercise his ‘constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense.’”

Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the group’s Oregon state director, Cynthia Ladd, sued the city of Salem, Oregon, and Marion County, Oregon, Sheriff Nick Hunter Friday in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon on Sept. 11, demanding that the state’s ban on non-residents carrying firearms be ruled a violation of the Second Amendment.

“Our constitutional rights don’t end at a state border,” GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told the DCNF. “We don’t lose our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, or freedom of the press when we cross into another state and the same is true of our right to keep and bear arms. And quite frankly, Oregon is denying Americans a constitutional right simply because they travel to the state, and we’re seeking to put a stop to that.”

Ladd noted that she routinely traveled to Oregon for business on behalf of GOA in a sworn statement to the court.

“In addition to being a member of Plaintiff Gun Owners of America, Inc. (‘GOA’) and a financial supporter of Plaintiff Gun Owners Foundation (‘GOF’), I also serve as the Oregon State Director for Plaintiff GOA,” Ladd said in a declaration filed Sept. 11. “To that end, I will be traveling to Oregon, and specifically to the City of Salem, within the next 90 days as part of my job duties as GOA’s Oregon State Director.”

“As State Director, I am responsible for visiting the Capitol, speaking with legislators, attending various events, including speaking engagements and dinners, and providing information about GOA membership to individuals in Oregon,” Ladd continued. “I also plan to make a subsequent trip to Salem within 90 days after my initial trip, and at various intervals thereafter. During these trips, I plan to visit surrounding locations, including Eugene, Oregon.”

Oregon does not recognize any other state’s concealed carry permit, according to the National Rifle Association, nor do another nine states. Liberty Justice Center attorney Ryan Morrison explained why the group made its arguments on the Second Amendment, rather than use the “full faith and credit clause.”

“There’s no law out there discussing the full faith and credit clause with respect to the Second Amendment. It’s mostly driver’s licenses, marriage licenses, and things like that,” Morrison told the DCNF. “That doesn’t mean we couldn’t have tried to make the claim, but we were only too far down the line to kind of do it. And since there was no precedent on it, no law on it anywhere in any federal court, we really have nothing to stand on other than this is just what we think.”

“I guess the analogy that comes to mind is, especially since we’re still in the baseball season, when you have two strikes on a batter a pitcher goes to his best pitch, even though he may have several pitches in his arsenal,” Pratt told the DCNF. “And I think that the same is here where there are, even though I think full faith and credit is a legitimate argument, in terms of what has resonated better in the courts is, you know, [the] Second Amendment. The right of the people to keep and bear arms applies to everybody everywhere, and that right shall not be infringed.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) sued Massachusetts in August 2025 over delays in processing carry permits for out-of-state applicants alongside the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) and several non-residents who resided in the state for part of the year. In an Aug. 28 ruling, Chief United States District Judge Denise Casper of the District of Massachusetts, an Obama appointee, allowed the litigation to proceed.

SAF and the Justice Department previously reached settlements with Los Angeles County over delays in processing applications for carry permits.

The Supreme Court is slated to hold a “long conference” on Sept. 28, where it is expected to decide whether to hear the many cases before it.