The History of Concealed Carry in the United States (2026)

Quick answer: Concealed carry in the U.S. went from largely unregulated in the colonial era to widely banned in the 1800s — Kentucky and Louisiana passed the first state bans in 1813 — then to discretionary “may issue” permits for much of the 20th century. Florida’s 1987 “shall issue” law sparked a wave of permit reform, Vermont never required a permit, and since Alaska (2003) most states have adopted permitless carry. The Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision ended discretionary “may issue” permitting.

Reviewed and updated October 31, 2026 by Daniel Guerra. Rewritten as a neutral, sourced overview; earlier unsupported statistics and quotations were removed.

Era	Key change
Colonial and early U.S.	Few carry restrictions; Second Amendment ratified 1791
1813 onward	Kentucky and Louisiana pass the first concealed-weapon bans; many states follow
20th century	Discretionary “may issue” permits common
1987	Florida’s shall-issue law spreads nationwide
2003–present	Permitless carry grows to 29 states by 2026
2022	NYSRPA v. Bruen ends may-issue discretion

Continue with what constitutional carry means and national reciprocity.

Early America (Before 1800)

In the colonial era and the early republic, carrying weapons was common and lightly regulated. Most colonies required men to own arms for militia service, and English common law generally punished carrying arms in a way that terrified the public rather than carrying itself. The Second Amendment, ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, protected the right to keep and bear arms, though for most of American history its precise reach was debated and rarely litigated.

The 1800s: The First Concealed Carry Bans

In 1813, Kentucky and Louisiana passed the first state laws banning the carrying of concealed weapons. Over the following decades, many states, especially in the South and West, did the same. Supporters argued concealed weapons were associated with dueling, ambushes and violence; open carry was often viewed as more honorable and left legal.

Courts split on these laws. In Bliss v. Commonwealth (1822), Kentucky’s highest court struck down the state’s ban as a violation of the right to bear arms, and Kentucky later amended its constitution to allow such laws. In Nunn v. State (1846), the Georgia Supreme Court struck down a ban on open carry while accepting limits on concealed carry. In State v. Chandler (1850), the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the concealed carry ban. After the Civil War, several states, including Texas in 1871, adopted broader restrictions on carrying pistols.

The 1900s: Permits and “May Issue”

New York’s Sullivan Act of 1911 required a license to carry a concealable handgun and gave local officials discretion over who received one. This “may issue” model, where officials could deny a permit even to a qualified applicant, spread to many states in the early and mid-1900s. In practice, permits in some jurisdictions went mostly to people with connections or a demonstrated special need.

Federal law during this period, such as the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968, focused on which firearms and buyers were regulated rather than on carry permits, leaving carry rules mainly to the states.

1987 to Today: Shall Issue, Permitless Carry and the Courts

Shall issue

Florida’s 1987 law is widely credited with starting the modern “shall issue” movement: the state had to issue a permit to any applicant who met objective criteria such as age, background check and training. A few states had similar systems earlier, but over the next two decades most states adopted shall-issue laws.

Permitless (constitutional) carry

Vermont never required a permit to carry a handgun. Alaska became the second permitless carry state in 2003, followed by Arizona in 2010. The approach spread quickly after that, and as of October 2026, 29 states allow eligible adults to carry without a permit, while most of them still issue optional permits for reciprocity. See our constitutional carry guide.

The Supreme Court

In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep a handgun in the home for self-defense. McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) applied that right to state and local governments. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the Court struck down New York’s requirement that permit applicants show “proper cause,” which ended discretionary may-issue permitting in the states that still used it, and set a test asking whether a gun law is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. In United States v. Rahimi (2024), the Court upheld the federal ban on firearm possession by people under certain domestic-violence restraining orders.

Where Things Stand Now

• Permits: states that issue carry permits must now use objective criteria (Vermont issues none), and 29 states allow permitless carry.
• Sensitive places: after Bruen, several states expanded the list of places where carry is banned, such as parks, transit and places of worship. Many of these laws are still being challenged in court.
• Reciprocity: there is no national reciprocity law, so permit recognition still depends on each state. See our reciprocity guide.
• Open vs. concealed: rules for open carry differ from concealed carry in many states; see open carry vs. concealed carry.

Debates over the effects of carry laws on crime continue, and researchers disagree about the evidence. Whatever your view, the practical point for carriers is that the rules depend on where you are, and they keep changing.

Related reading: Open Carry vs. Concealed Carry : Key Differences

History of Concealed Carry FAQ

Conclusion

American concealed carry law has moved in a long arc: lightly regulated in the founding era, widely banned in the 1800s, permitted at officials’ discretion for much of the 1900s, and then opened up through shall-issue laws from 1987, permitless carry from 2003 and the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision. Today the biggest practical issue is variation from state to state, so check the law wherever you carry, and see our concealed carry insurance comparison for legal coverage.