Starting Thursday, anyone who can legally possess a gun in Kentucky can carry it around under a coat, in a purse or hidden in a hip holster — no permit required.
Senate Bill 150, which was signed into law on March 11 and takes effect June 27, eliminates the six-hour gun-safety training course, background check and $60 application fee that Kentucky previously required.
It also removes an exclusion that prevented Kentuckians from getting a concealed-carry permit if they owed more than a year of child support or had misdemeanor alcohol or drug convictions within three years.
Kentucky joins 14 other states that have passed similar laws eliminating the need for a permit to carry concealed.
The change loosens yet another firearms restriction in a state already known for having some of the nation’s most liberal gun laws.
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That’s fine with proponents, who say that eliminating the concealed-carry law will have little impact since Kentuckians could already “open carry” — meaning the gun is in plain sight — without a permit.
“Law-abiding citizens who are authorized to carry a firearm should not have to ask permission from the government or pay a recurrent fee in order to exercise their Second Amendment right,” said state Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, one of the bill’s sponsors, who added that it is wise for anyone who plans to carry to have basic safety training.