At the NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta

As this correspondent sits in the Press Office at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the NRA in Atlanta, Georgia, there is time to reflect on the enormous progress which has been made in restoring rights protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights.

The first time this correspondent was in Atlanta for more than a plane exchange was within a month or two of 51 years ago, while on active duty in the Army, in 1974. This correspondent attended the NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta in 2017. 

In 1974, travel across state lines with firearms was a perilous proposition. It would be 12 years before  The Firearms Owners Protection Act (FOPA) was passed , with intense lobbying by the NRA.   Peaceably carrying unloaded firearms locked in your vehicle was subject to a host of differing state and local laws. This incremental improvement in restoring rights protected by the Second Amendment  is often ignored by people discussing FOPA.

There was no permit in Texas, although there was a somewhat ambiguous exception for carrying while traveling. You could carry on your own land.

In 1974 there were may issue permits by local Sheriffs in Georgia and Mississippi to residents.  Alabama had a shall issue permit system which depended on the local sheriffs.

In 1974 this correspondent was acutely aware of the many legal vulnerabilities which existed carrying arms across state lines. Traveling under orders while on active duty with the U.S. Army gave some protection. 

By the 2017 trip from Texas to Georgia, the situation had improved significantly.

FOPA had been passed. As long as you could legally possess firearms where you were going, and where you had been, federal law gave you some protection. Georgia and Mississippi passed a shall issue law in 1989. Texas passed a shall issue permit law in 1995. Louisiana became shall issue in 1996. Louisiana had passed an improved Right to Carry amendment to their Constitution in 2012. They had a shall issue permit and open carry. In 2016, Mississippi joined the Constitutional Carry club.

In 2025, Constitutional Carry (permitless carry) has become law in 29 states. When the 30th state will join the club is uncertain. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia are all Constitutional Carry States. The Supreme Court issued the landmark Bruen decision in June of 2022. While about a dozen recalcitrant states still fight to prevent the exercise of rights protected by the Second Amendment, numerous cases are in the courts. A second Trump presidency makes nullification of the Second Amendment by the courts unlikely.

Analysis: In 1974 it seemed the battle for Constitutional government had been lost. Progressive philosophy was in power nearly everywhere. President Reagan was in the future, the Cold war was in full swing. Vietnam was still a hot war. This correspondent decided to fight for recognition of Second Amendment rights because giving up meant giving up the rule of law. In many ways, it meant  giving up on limited goverment. Contrary to expectations, Second Amendment supporters have been mostly winning for the last 40 years. 

Much remains to be done. Don't forget how much has been accomplished by steady incrementalism. The facts, the culture, and the Constitution are with Second Amendment supporters. The primary tools of our opponents are lies and emotional deception. 

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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