Rep. Pat Harrigan (R., N.C.) wants the federal concealed carry authority to extend to honorably discharged special operations veterans whose firearms training and marksmanship standards match or exceed those of retired law enforcement officers.
Harrigan’s latest legislation, the Special Operations Forces Concealed Carry Act, would do just that, by amending the statute that currently grants concealed carry authority to qualified retired law enforcement officers, to also cover qualified special operators.
“Federal law already trusts retired police officers to carry concealed nationwide,” Harrigan said of his legislation, which was obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter. “That makes sense. But it makes no sense that a retired SEAL or Green Beret, someone who spent a career mastering firearms under the most demanding conditions in the world, has no equivalent recognition under federal law.”
“This bill fixes that,” Harrigan, a former Army Special Forces officer, added. “It does not create new rights or weaken any safeguard. It simply extends an existing, proven framework to the warriors who have earned it more than anyone.”
Among the bill’s provisions are requirements for the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs to create a photo identification program within six months of its passage. It would also require the Department of Justice to issue guidance to law enforcement agencies nationwide, which would ensure uniform recognition of qualifying credentials for those eligible.
Under Harrigan’s bill, eligible veterans will receive permanent, nationwide concealed carry authority with no annual firearms requalification requirement, while remaining fully subject to all existing federal firearm restrictions, his office explained.
The bill covers honorably discharged servicemembers from paygrade E-5 to O-10 with verified service in Army Special Forces, the 75th Ranger Regiment, Delta Force, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps Scout Snipers, Reconnaissance Marines, MARSOC operators, and Air Force Combat Control, Pararescue, Special Reconnaissance, TACP, and Special Operations Weather, it added.
