Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB645 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 645
5	5	To enforce the rights protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments
6	6	against the States.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	JANUARY23, 2025
9	9	Mr. M
10	10	ASSIE(for himself, Ms. BOEBERT, Mr. BIGGSof Arizona, Mr.
11	11	B
12	12	RECHEEN, Mr. BURCHETT, Mr. BURLISON, Mr. CLINE, Mr. CLOUD,
13	13	Mr. C
14	14	OLLINS, Mr. CRANE, Mr. GOSAR, Ms. GREENEof Georgia, Mr.
15	15	H
16	16	ARRISof Maryland, Mr. HIGGINSof Louisiana, Mr. LANGWORTHY, Mrs.
17	17	L
18	18	UNA, Mrs. MILLERof Illinois, Mr. MOOREof Alabama, Mr. MORAN, Mr.
19	19	O
20	20	GLES, Mr. ROSE, Mr. ROY, Mr. SELF, Mrs. SPARTZ, Ms. TENNEY, Mr.
21	21	T
22	22	IFFANY, Mr. WEBERof Texas, Mr. WIED, Mr. GILLof Texas, and Mr.
23	23	H
24	24	ARRIGAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
25	25	mittee on the Judiciary
26	26	A BILL
27	27	To enforce the rights protected by the Second and
28	28	Fourteenth Amendments against the States.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
30	30	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
31	31	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
32	32	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Constitu-4
33	33	tional Carry Act’’. 5
34	34	SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
35	35	Congress finds the following: 7
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38	38	•HR 645 IH
39	39	(1) Recognizing the preexisting right to self-de-1
40	40	fense, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of 2
41	41	the United States guarantees individually to Amer-3
42	42	ican citizens the right ‘‘to keep and bear arms’’, in-4
43	43	cluding the right to bear arms in public. 5
44	44	(2) The Second Amendment decrees that these 6
45	45	rights to keep and bear arms ‘‘shall not be in-7
46	46	fringed’’, and was enumerated in order to preserve 8
47	47	‘‘the security of a free State’’. 9
48	48	(3) In District of Columbia v. Heller (554 U.S. 10
49	49	570, 595 (2008)), the Supreme Court confirmed 11
50	50	that ‘‘[t]here seems to us no doubt, on the basis of 12
51	51	both text and history, that the Second Amendment 13
52	52	conferred an individual right to keep and bear 14
53	53	arms’’. 15
54	54	(4) In McDonald v. City of Chicago (561 U.S. 16
55	55	742, 791 (2010)), the Supreme Court ruled that the 17
56	56	Fourteenth Amendment makes the Second Amend-18
57	57	ment fully applicable to the States. Four Justices 19
58	58	concluded that the rights protected by the Second 20
59	59	Amendment are fundamental to the Nation’s scheme 21
60	60	of ordered liberty and deeply rooted in this Nation’s 22
61	61	‘‘history and tradition’’, and therefore incorporated 23
62	62	to the States through the Due Process Clause of the 24
63	63	Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Thomas agreed 25
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66	66	•HR 645 IH
67	67	that the rights protected by the Second Amendment 1
68	68	are both ‘‘fundamental’’ and ‘‘deeply rooted’’ and, as 2
69	69	such, are enforceable against the States under the 3
70	70	Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges and Immunities 4
71	71	Clause. 5
72	72	(5) Recently, the Supreme Court acknowledged 6
73	73	in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen 7
74	74	(142 S. Ct. 2111, 2156 (2022)), that the Second 8
75	75	and Fourteenth Amendments protect the individual 9
76	76	right to carry arms outside the home for self-de-10
77	77	fense. Further, the Court reiterated that the Second 11
78	78	Amendment’s otherwise ‘‘unqualified command’’ only 12
79	79	accommodates laws that are ‘‘consistent with this 13
80	80	Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation’’ 14
81	81	(Id. at 2126). 15
82	82	(6) Certain States and localities have enacted 16
83	83	gun control laws that are not consistent with the 17
84	84	text of the Second Amendment or this Nation’s his-18
85	85	torical tradition of firearm regulation. The criminal-19
86	86	ization of peaceable, public firearms carry is repug-20
87	87	nant to the original meaning of the Second Amend-21
88	88	ment. 22
89	89	(7) Any State or local restriction on the right 23
90	90	of American citizens to keep and bear arms impairs 24
91	91	the ability of the Second Amendment to achieve its 25
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94	94	•HR 645 IH
95	95	textually specified purpose, ‘‘the security of a free 1
96	96	State’’. 2
97	97	SEC. 3. THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. 3
98	98	(a) I
99	99	NGENERAL.—Section 927 of title 18, United 4
100	100	States Code, is amended to read as follows: 5
101	101	‘‘§ 927. The right to keep and bear arms 6
102	102	‘‘(a) No State or political subdivision of a State may 7
103	103	impose a criminal or civil penalty on, or otherwise indi-8
104	104	rectly limit the carrying of firearms (including by imposing 9
105	105	a financial or other barrier to entry) in public by residents 10
106	106	or nonresidents of that State who are citizens of the 11
107	107	United States and otherwise eligible to possess firearms 12
108	108	under State and Federal law. 13
109	109	‘‘(b) Any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or 14
110	110	usage of a State or a political subdivision of a State that 15
111	111	criminalizes, penalizes, or otherwise indirectly dissuades 16
112	112	the carrying of firearms (including by imposing a financial 17
113	113	or other barrier to entry) in public by any resident or non-18
114	114	resident who is a United States citizen and otherwise eligi-19
115	115	ble to possess firearms under State and Federal law, shall 20
116	116	have no force or effect. 21
117	117	‘‘(c) The term ‘State’ as used in this section includes 22
118	118	the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 23
119	119	Rico, and the possessions of the United States (not includ-24
120	120	ing the Canal Zone). 25
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124	124	‘‘(d) The term ‘public’ as used in this section— 1
125	125	‘‘(1) includes any place held open to the public, 2
126	126	regardless of ownership, but in the case of a pri-3
127	127	vately-owned location held open to the public, does 4
128	128	not include a place where the owner communicates 5
129	129	clearly and conspicuously a prohibition of firearms 6
130	130	on the premises; and 7
131	131	‘‘(2) does not include a place where screening 8
132	132	for firearms is conducted under State law.’’. 9
133	133	(b) C
134	134	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 10
135	135	for such chapter is amended by striking the item relating 11
136	136	to section 927 and inserting the following: 12
137	137	‘‘927. The right to keep and bear arms.’’.
138	138	Æ
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