The Nanny State and Constitutional Carry

How the government can influence your thinking without your knowledge

Constitutional Carry, the ability to carry concealed without obtaining the states permission, is sweeping the country. At present there are 21 Constitutional Carry states. Legislatures in several other states are currently considering the idea.

Last week I wrote an article on Constitutional Carry and we were discussing the article on the radio show. I mentioned that I supported Constitutional Carry but had one slight reservation. When asked about my reservation I stated that I was concerned that without any permit or training requirement some people may not understand the laws and inadvertently get themselves in trouble.

Ursula Williams and Chris Cheng were guests on the show that day. Both are competitive shooters and well-known social media figures. We got into a discussion about my reservation with Ursula and Chris eventually making the same point. Hearing their argument made me realize that I didn’t have the concern that I thought I had and that my position was pretty much the same as theirs. I’ll explain.

Without the need for a permit, there is no opportunity for even a minimal amount of required training. In California for instance, the state mandates eight hours of training for those seeking a concealed carry license (CCW). Part of that training is a range qualification but most of the time is spent in the classroom addressing the laws and rules relating to concealed carry.

In California, the laws are not rational. The laws are not logical. There are many ways a legally armed citizen can violate a rule or law and end up losing their CCW or worse. Without a licensing requirement there is no opportunity to require a basic level of training.

The point made by Ursula and Chris was that it is not the states responsibility to ensure legally armed citizens understand the law. If a citizen chooses to carry a firearm it is the citizens responsibility to understand the law and acquire the training and skills to carry competently and safely. The people living in states that implement Constitutional Carry understand this. It turns out that I always believed that I had just somehow become unaware of my belief.

One of the insidious effects of living in an oppressive nanny state like California is the slowly eroded sense of individual responsibility. As the state aggressively seeks to control every aspect of life for every citizen (e.g., mask and vaccine mandates) people take less responsibility for their decisions and the results thereof. Eventually we tend to look first to others as being responsible rather than to ourselves. Eventually what happens is what happened to me.

Our liberty and freedom are under aggressive attack from many sources today. The way to protect those things along with our rights and the future of America is for people to take responsibility. Take responsibility for the role you have as a citizen. Take responsibility to educate yourself as to what politicians are doing, about the laws they are passing. Take responsibility for understanding your rights and why they are precious. Take responsibility for protecting those rights. Get involved. Understand that if your rights are lost, they are lost for good.

So, I can now say I’m completely in favor of Constitutional carry. More importantly now I can say I understand why.

©2021 Joseph T Drammissi

Let’s Go Brandon!

This article and more of Joe’s work covering the Second Amendment and other topics can be found on Substack at