Why Bill Seeking to Create National Carry for ‘Elite’ Veterans Is Facing Pro-Gun Opposition

On the surface, it probably sounded swell. Let’s give national concealed carry to elite veterans. I mean, aren’t guys like Navy SEALs; Army Special Forces, and Rangers; and other elite troops well-trained to know how to use something as basic as a handgun?

Absolutely. They most definitely have a lot of training on using those weapons, more than most military personnel receive in the course of their careers.

Damn sure more than the Navy gave me, that’s for sure.

But the proposal, introduced by Rep. Pat Harrigan, isn’t garnering massive support among the pro-gun side of things. 

Let’s just look at some of the replies to USA Carry’s celebration of the bill, for just a moment.

I qualify for LEOSA nationwide carry — END special gov employee carve-outs NOW!

REAL national reciprocity for ALL Americans, not more LEO/military privileges.

Egalitarianism, not class nobility in the US!

Insane I can carry anywhere but my wife can’t.https://t.co/9tpedQurMy pic.twitter.com/rOhQwEghNd

— Luis Valdes (@RealFLGunLobby) April 21, 2026

If you support this stupidity then you think there’s a special class of Americans who deserve to exercise their civil rights while their fellow citizens are restricted from exercising those same rights. This tactic is known as Divide and Conquer.
Don’t get bamboozled.

— Tony Simon (@2nd4Everyone) April 21, 2026

Only cops can carry firearms, oh and retired SOF The rest of the peasants can continue carrying their rape whistles 🤡 pic.twitter.com/nXbGYABMdi

— TENTECH TACTICAL ACTUAL (@tcubedactual) April 20, 2026

some animals are more special than the other animals…. #AnimalFarm
I deeply respect the US military and Special Operations soldiers but, they are not entitled to special privileges that are the Rights of all US citizens.

— DocPyro (@Recondo886) April 21, 2026

This is but a few of those lashing out over this.

Why? What is the real problem here?

I mean, I tend to talk about incrementalism, and I’ve been lectured by some who seem to think that’s what we’re seeing here. Give the spec ops guys national concealed carry, and when nothing happens, we can expand it. Makes sense, right?

That’s the same thinking a lot of people had when the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act was passed in 2004. Since then, nothing happened, and what have we gotten for it?

See, when you carve out these particular exceptions, such as special operators and law enforcement, who, while not remotely on the same tier most of the time, are still people perceived to have a much higher level of training with firearms than the average gun owner, and the incremental approach simply doesn’t follow.

People figure, “Of course nothing happened. These are specially trained people who are among the most elite the military has ever produced. They’re not your cousin Jethro, who probably shouldn’t be allowed out of his driveway.”

There’s no application to other people in their minds.

Back when I was in boot camp, my bunkmate was a guy named Donnie. That’s not what I called him, but I’m not about to dox the guy or anything. See, we shared a rack in Great Lakes, then we went to Corps School together. We ended up going to Pharmacy Tech school together. I got out, got married, had a kid, then watched 9/11 and spent all of GWOT wishing I could re-enlist, but wouldn’t with my wife’s blessing, and she was too scared for me to give it.

Donnie, though, stayed in. He ended up as a doc with the Marine Raiders. I haven’t talked to him in ages, but I’m damn proud of him.

For all the arguments about this bill, and I agree that it’s absolute nonsense because of unequal protection before the law, but I can’t get beyond how the two of us spent our early years in the Navy together, doing the same things, but he’s the guy who will be able to get national concealed carry if this bill becomes law, while I, someone who has trained extensively on my own dime, wouldn’t be able to.

Probably irrelevant, all things considered, but it still kind of irks me. Nothing against Donnie, mind you.

Look, this isn’t going to trickle down to us. If anything, this just reinforces the idea that only the super-elite can be trusted to carry a firearm in all 50 states. 

That’s a hard pass from me, dog.

Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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