Two truck drivers who were fed up with being forced to unload and lock up their carry guns every time they crossed the state line into Minnesota recently sued the state for violating their Second Amendment.
According to a report at landline.media, truck drivers David McCoy II, who has a Texas carry permit, and Jeffrey Johnson Sr., who has a Florida permit, argued that their rights were infringed because Minnesota’s law recognizes only certain states’ carry permits. Many states have reciprocal agreements with other states, but Minnesota does not reciprocate with states that have more generous carry laws.
Alas, the court saw things differently, ruling that the state law didn’t violate the truckers’ right to keep and bear arms.
“The Supreme Court has interpreted this language to mean that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms … and applies to the states,” District Judge John Tunheim wrote in the ruling. “However, the rights bound up in the Second Amendment are not without limit.”
During the case, both truck drivers explained how they feel unsafe because of recurrent violent crimes against truckers and said they regularly carry firearms for self-defense. They argued they must either give up their right to bear arms or break Minnesota’s laws to protect themselves, with neither being a good option.
The state, however, argued that its reciprocity law regulates states, not individuals. In other words, it does not regulate Johnson directly, meaning he is not part of “the people” mentioned in the Second Amendment.
While Judge Tunheim didn’t agree with that facet of the state’s argument, he ultimately upheld the state’s reciprocity law and ruled against the defendants.
“If anything, Minnesota’s reciprocity provision makes it easier for individuals like Johnson to carry firearms in Minnesota; it does not add additional restrictions regarding who can or cannot carry firearms in Minnesota,” the ruling stated. “Further, the provision does not prohibit out-of-state residents from carrying firearms in Minnesota but rather requires that their out-of-state permits have similar licensing standards to those endorsed by Minnesota’s legislature. Nothing in Bruen or the Constitution requires states to adopt or defer to the licensing standards of other states. Indeed, states retain authority under their police powers to regulate who may carry firearms within their borders.”
As we’ve reported several times in the past, national concealed carry reciprocity is a major goal of many gun-rights groups in the current climate. Such a law, however, must be passed soon, while Republicans hold the majority in both chambers of Congress.
One measure currently under consideration, H.R. 38, was approved by a House committee this spring and is eligible for consideration by the whole House of Representatives. The legislation would do away with the patchwork of laws that hinder lawful Americans from being able to protect themselves when traveling from state to state.
Prior to the 2024 election, President Donald Trump pledged to sign a reciprocity bill if the House and Senate could agree on language.
“I will protect the right of self-defense wherever it is under siege, and I will sign concealed carry reciprocity,” President Trump said at the time. “Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line.”
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