Idaho Bill to Extend 2A Rights to 18-Year-Olds Goes to Governor Brad Little

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- House Bill 206, designed to restore Second Amendment rights in Idaho to 18-20-year-old adults in Idaho cities, has passed both the House and the Senate. Is on the way to Governor Brad Little for his signature.

Idaho belongs to the Constitutional Carry club. A person 21 or over can carry a gun throughout the state, openly or concealed, without a government permission slip. Nor permit was required for citizens to carry weapons, concealed or openly, when the Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment, was ratified in 1791. But adults in Idaho, who are less than 21 years old, are forbidden from carrying concealed weapons inside of city or incorporated town limits.

The same adults have always had the right to carry weapons openly in Idaho, including inside of cities or incorporated town limits. From Fox New (AP) in 2007:

POST FALLS, Idaho – Two home-schooled teenagers in this northern Idaho town say they are carrying loaded guns to the library, grocery store and other public areas for self-defense, as a crime deterrent, and to educate others about their rights.

Zach Doty, 18, carries a loaded Glock handgun on his hip. His 15-year-old brother, Steven, carries a .22-caliber rifle in a sling on his back.

Having accomplished the restoration of Constitutional Carry in Idaho, Second Amendment supporters are cleaning up existing infringements. HB 206 only changes the definition of those who are exempt from prosecution for carrying a concealed handgun from 21 years of age to 18 years of age. The bill passed the House on 14 March 2019, 53 yea, 14 nays, three absent or excused. It passed the Senate on 27 March 2019, 28 yea, 7 nay, no absent or excused members.

Governor Little has said he is a staunch defender of the 2nd Amendment. From ontheissues.org:

As a lifetime member of the NRA, I am a strong defender of the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment in Idaho is a sacred trust guaranteed by our Constitution–a fundamental and irrevocable right. Not only are guns vital to our way of life, they are important to our economy.

Source: 2018 Idaho Gubernatorial website BradLittleForIdaho.com , Sep 1, 2017

HB 206 does not affect the existing shall issue concealed carry permit system.

To obtain a permit, which is recognized by 37 states, people in Idaho are required to be 21 years of age or older.  The permits are recognized by Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Second Amendment supporters have organized. They have become a political force. They are restoring Second Amendment rights in the United States, incrementally. Sixteen states have restored Constitutional Carry. In those states, the struggle to restore Second Amendment rights has shifted to lesser infringements of the Second Amendment.

Second Amendment supporters may be satisfied when they no longer see infringements on Second Amendment rights.

They may not. Movements take on a life of their own. When a person believes that the right to arms is a natural right, they are likely to ask: Why can’t I take my defensive firearm to Canada? Why can’t I take it to Mexico?

There were times in the past when carrying arms into Mexico and Canada was common and not a crime.

There will always be infringements on the right to bear arms in the world.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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