Carry Law Updates & Change Log

What this page is: a dated log of every substantive change we make to the Freedom’s Lodge carry-law cluster — the interactive reciprocity map, the reciprocity guide and all 51 state gun-law pages. We re-verify against official state sources on a weekly cycle; when a law, court ruling or reciprocity list changes, the update lands here first. Want it in your inbox? Get Carry Law Change Alerts. Researchers and journalists: the underlying data is free to use — see the CCW Reciprocity Dataset (CC BY 4.0).

September 14, 2026

  • California — fingerprint check now required to renew a CCW license. Under AB 1078 (Stats. 2025, ch. 570), a licensing authority may not issue a renewal CCW license on or after September 1, 2026 unless the California Department of Justice first confirms the applicant is eligible to own or possess a firearm through a fingerprint-based check. The authority must decide a renewal within 120 days of a complete application, or within 30 days of receiving the Department’s eligibility determination, as specified. Confirmed against California DOJ Information Bulletin 2026-DLE-02.
  • California — statutory non-resident CCW licensing added. The same act, effective January 1, 2026, requires licensing authorities to issue a CCW license to a qualifying non-California resident who meets the statutory requirements. Our California page previously described non-resident applications only through the 2025 Hoffman v. Bonta injunction — corrected to reflect the statute.
  • Virginia — incomplete reciprocity note repaired, and the 2027 rewrite spelled out. The recognition paragraph on our Virginia page ended mid-sentence. It now states the scheduled change in full: 2026 Acts of Assembly c. 879 (SB 115) rewrites § 18.2-308.014 effective July 1, 2027, after which Virginia recognizes an out-of-state permit only if that state offers 24-hour instant verification and its requirements are substantially similar to Virginia’s, with the Attorney General deciding which states qualify and State Police publishing the list; Virginia residents without a Virginia permit may no longer rely on another state’s permit. Current all-states recognition is unchanged until then.

August 17, 2026

  • Virginia — assault-firearm & magazine bans ENJOINED. The 2026 bans on sale/transfer of assault firearms and >15-round magazines (cc. 1106/1107, slated for July 1, 2026) were blocked statewide by a Washington County Circuit Court preliminary injunction; litigation is stayed pending U.S. Supreme Court review of similar state bans (decisions expected 2027). Our Virginia page previously listed the bans as effective — corrected to reflect the injunction.
  • Rhode Island — Assault Weapons Ban Act added. S.359 (signed June 2025, effective July 1, 2026) bans manufacture, sale, transfer and purchase of defined semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns; possession of pre-7/1/2026 firearms is grandfathered. 2026 possession-ban bills (H8073/S2710) remain pending.
  • Colorado — SB25-003 purchase requirement added. Effective August 1, 2026, purchasing specified semi-automatic firearms requires a Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card (background check plus approved training).

August 14, 2026

  • Cluster launched after a full government-source verification pass. All 51 state pages, the interactive map and the reciprocity guide went live with every law-critical fact verified against statutes, official state agency pages or court opinions — including the D.C. magazine-limit status after the Benson v. U.S. en banc grant (limit currently in force), Wisconsin’s official 42-entry recognition list, the corrected count of 29 permitless states (Arkansas’s Act 777 covers visitors), Wyoming’s age-18 permitless carry (2026 HB 96), Florida’s post-Eubanks licensing for residents 18–20, Texas’s SB 706 blanket recognition, and Kentucky’s new provisional 18–20 carry license (2026 HB 312).

Every fact on our carry pages traces to an official source — see how we verify carry-law data. This log covers substantive legal changes; typo fixes and formatting are not listed. Educational reference only — not legal advice (disclaimer).