Elite Operators Deserve Carry Rights — New Bill Delivers

Rep. Pat Harrigan (NC-10) dropped the Special Operations Forces Concealed Carry Act this week, extending federal concealed carry authority to both active-duty and veteran special operations forces. Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Delta operators, Rangers — the most lethal and proficient firearms handlers on the planet — would finally carry the rights they earned in blood.

Harrigan's bill targets SOF personnel whose firearms training and marksmanship standards already exceed what most law enforcement agencies require. These are men and women who spent careers mastering weapons systems on behalf of this country — then got told to disarm when they came home. That's not just insulting. It's indefensible.

Harrigan is no armchair warrior. The North Carolina congressman served as an Army Ranger and lost both legs in combat in Afghanistan. He knows exactly who these operators are and what they're capable of.

"If you trust a Green Beret to clear a building in Kandahar, you can trust him to carry a pistol in Charlotte" — that's the argument this bill makes without saying a word, and it's airtight.

The legislation builds on existing federal concealed carry frameworks like the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA), which grants qualified law enforcement officers nationwide carry privileges. SOF veterans are, by any objective measure, more firearms-qualified than the average officer LEOSA covers. The coverage gap has never made logical sense — and this bill closes it.

Anti-gun politicians have spent decades treating law-abiding veterans like liabilities the moment they exit the service. Acting AG Todd Blanche's Justice Department now has a clear opportunity to back legislation like this and signal that the federal government is done treating veterans as second-class citizens under the Second Amendment.

This bill won't pass on its own. It needs co-sponsors, it needs pressure, and it needs gun owners making noise.

Call your congressman today and demand they co-sponsor the Special Operations Forces Concealed Carry Act. If we can't protect the carry rights of the warriors who protected us, we've already lost the argument.