@Marauder06 thanks, as always, I hadn’t thought of it like that.
I personally have Florida, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Ohio CCW. That gets me about 38 states. I was literally ok with that from the second I wanted to legally carry as many places as possible. Because full disclosure? I carry.
I would love a tightly regulated national CCW, but I am now a lot more educated on states rights and national policy!
Let's say amlove is flying from Florida, where he is licensed to carry, to Maine, which recognizes his permit. He wants to take his handgun with him because... you know what "because" doesn't matter because assuming it's for a lawful purpose that's his business not ours. Anyway, in accordance with applicable laws, he unloads, locks, and declares his handgun at the check-in counter in Florida. No drama.
He then has a connecting flight in New York. No wait, that's too obvious, let's say New Jersey. It's winter and after several hours of delays, his connecting flight gets cancelled. The airline gives him all his stuff back, including his gun, books him a room in a hotel attached to the airport, and arranges for a new connecting flight the next day. He gets a good night's sleep, is first in line for check in the next morning, and once again declares his handgun, still in its case from the day before.
And then he gets arrested.
John Stossel Interviews Gun Owners Arrested for Traveling in New York
Or mara, who is licensed in Connecticut, wants to go home to Kentucky for Christmas. After more than a year of trying, he finally gets his CT permit. He already has one from Kentucky, which
is good in something like 40 of the 50 states. But it's not valid New York. And
NY doesn't recognize anyone else's permits, and apparently they don't issue permits to out-of-state residents except under some very specific circumstances. Mara, not wanted to break the law, dutifully locks up his handgun inside his vehicle before he crosses into New York State. Just before he crosses into Pennsylvania, where he can legally carry again, mara and his family stop for gas. It's late, it's dark, and it's a somewhat-sketchy looking area but hey they need a stop. While pumping gas, he and his family are confronted by three young men armed with knives who demand his money and his vehicle. You know, the vehicle that holds his legally-purchased handgun, that for some reason he can't be trusted to carry on his person in the state of New York. I'll let you imagine how this hypothetical story ends.
I don't stop being an American citizen when I cross state lines. My individual rights, enshrined in the Constitution and validated by multiple Supreme Court decisions, shouldn't change from state to state. If people are serious about "common sense gun laws," then certainly one of the top five things on the list should be national concealed carry.