WHEREAS, forty-two (42) states currently have laws allowing private citizens to carry concealed weapons for protection or employment, if the individual is not proven to be either a convicted felon or mentally incompetent and meets certain training requirements, and one (1) state allows any citizen to carry concealed weapons; and

WHEREAS, seven (7) states presently prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons by all private citizens; and

WHEREAS, there is an effort to liberalize state’s CCW laws by enacting federal legislation, which would pre-empt current state CCW laws, with the argument that citizens wish to carry guns for self-protection, further arguing that the arming of private citizens will result in dramatically lowering the national crime rate by deterring criminals from victimizing these law-abiding citizens; and

WHEREAS, a majority of law enforcement professionals and an overwhelming majority of Americans do not support this theory; and

WHEREAS, individual states differ greatly in their CCW permit eligibility requirements, such as gun training, gun proficiency, citizenship/residency status, background investigations, and other related matters; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), duly assembled at its 103rd annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, opposes any federal legislative proposal(s) which would either pre-empt and/or mandate the liberalization of individual states’ CCW laws pertaining to the carrying of concealed weapons in other states without meeting that state’s requirements; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP convey its position of opposition to any such federal pre-emption of state laws with regard to the issuance of CCW permits and/or licenses to private citizens, to all members of Congress, and to the federal and state officials.