[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 645 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 645
To enforce the rights protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments
against the States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 23, 2025
Mr. Massie (for himself, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Biggs of Arizona, Mr.
Brecheen, Mr. Burchett, Mr. Burlison, Mr. Cline, Mr. Cloud, Mr.
Collins, Mr. Crane, Mr. Gosar, Ms. Greene of Georgia, Mr. Harris of
Maryland, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Langworthy, Mrs. Luna, Mrs.
Miller of Illinois, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Mr. Moran, Mr. Ogles, Mr.
Rose, Mr. Roy, Mr. Self, Mrs. Spartz, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Tiffany, Mr.
Weber of Texas, Mr. Wied, Mr. Gill of Texas, and Mr. Harrigan)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enforce the rights protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments
against the States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Constitutional Carry Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Recognizing the preexisting right to self-defense, the
Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
guarantees individually to American citizens the right ``to
keep and bear arms'', including the right to bear arms in
public.
(2) The Second Amendment decrees that these rights to keep
and bear arms ``shall not be infringed'', and was enumerated in
order to preserve ``the security of a free State''.
(3) In District of Columbia v. Heller (554 U.S. 570, 595
(2008)), the Supreme Court confirmed that ``[t]here seems to us
no doubt, on the basis of both text and history, that the
Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear
arms''.
(4) In McDonald v. City of Chicago (561 U.S. 742, 791
(2010)), the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment
makes the Second Amendment fully applicable to the States. Four
Justices concluded that the rights protected by the Second
Amendment are fundamental to the Nation's scheme of ordered
liberty and deeply rooted in this Nation's ``history and
tradition'', and therefore incorporated to the States through
the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice
Thomas agreed that the rights protected by the Second Amendment
are both ``fundamental'' and ``deeply rooted'' and, as such,
are enforceable against the States under the Fourteenth
Amendment's Privileges and Immunities Clause.
(5) Recently, the Supreme Court acknowledged in New York
State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen (142 S. Ct. 2111, 2156
(2022)), that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the
individual right to carry arms outside the home for self-
defense. Further, the Court reiterated that the Second
Amendment's otherwise ``unqualified command'' only accommodates
laws that are ``consistent with this Nation's historical
tradition of firearm regulation'' (Id. at 2126).
(6) Certain States and localities have enacted gun control
laws that are not consistent with the text of the Second
Amendment or this Nation's historical tradition of firearm
regulation. The criminalization of peaceable, public firearms
carry is repugnant to the original meaning of the Second
Amendment.
(7) Any State or local restriction on the right of American
citizens to keep and bear arms impairs the ability of the
Second Amendment to achieve its textually specified purpose,
``the security of a free State''.
SEC. 3. THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS.
(a) In General.--Section 927 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 927. The right to keep and bear arms
``(a) No State or political subdivision of a State may impose a
criminal or civil penalty on, or otherwise indirectly limit the
carrying of firearms (including by imposing a financial or other
barrier to entry) in public by residents or nonresidents of that State
who are citizens of the United States and otherwise eligible to possess
firearms under State and Federal law.
``(b) Any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of a
State or a political subdivision of a State that criminalizes,
penalizes, or otherwise indirectly dissuades the carrying of firearms
(including by imposing a financial or other barrier to entry) in public
by any resident or nonresident who is a United States citizen and
otherwise eligible to possess firearms under State and Federal law,
shall have no force or effect.
``(c) The term `State' as used in this section includes the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the
possessions of the United States (not including the Canal Zone).
``(d) The term `public' as used in this section--
``(1) includes any place held open to the public,
regardless of ownership, but in the case of a privately-owned
location held open to the public, does not include a place
where the owner communicates clearly and conspicuously a
prohibition of firearms on the premises; and
``(2) does not include a place where screening for firearms
is conducted under State law.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such chapter is
amended by striking the item relating to section 927 and inserting the
following:
``927. The right to keep and bear arms.''.
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