The Second Amendment and Concealed (Or Open?) Carry

Interesting piece at Reason today about the looming possibility that the Supreme Court might soon interpret the second amendment to mean that the right to “bear” arms includes “bearing” them outside of the house:

Assuming the Court strikes down Chicago’s handgun ban, what other forms of gun control could be vulnerable? Since the Second Amendment protects the right to “bear” arms as well as the right to “keep” them, restrictions on carrying guns in public are a ripe target.

Forty-one states either do not require handgun carry permits or issue them to anyone who satisfies a few objective criteria, which generally include firearms training and lack of a criminal record. Seven states let local officials decide whether to issue permits, while Illinois, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C., do not allow even that option.

I’m a pretty firm believe in the right to keep and bear handguns, just on general principle; I had no idea, however, that 80% of states issued concealed/open-carry permits. I thought the number was much lower than that. Still, I’m not sure that that necessarily means the Supreme Court should overturn restrictions against concealed/open-carry laws; one of the great things about federalism is the ability for localities to decide for themselves whether or not to allow certain practices, am I right?*

That being said, all of the worries about law-abiding citizens applying for permits to carry handguns and then turning the streets into a warzone is, shall we say, childish. Gangbangers and drug dealers already roam the streets armed to the teeth; I seriously doubt that arming the citizenry is going to lead to a sharp spike in drive by shootings.

*I can’t wait to hear all of the supporters of Roe v. Wade to come out of the woodwork defending federalism. That’ll be a treat. For the record, I support overturning Roe v. Wade as well as keeping abortion legal, especially in the first trimester or two.