Green Berets Can Storm Kandahar—But Need a Permit in California?

A congressman who earned his Ranger tab is now fighting to close a federal loophole that leaves America's most lethal warriors legally disarmed the moment an anti-gun governor says so.

Rep. Pat Harrigan (NC-10) introduced the **Special Operations Forces Concealed Carry Act**—legislation extending federal concealed carry authority to both active-duty and veteran special operations forces across all 50 states. No patchwork. No permission slips. Fifty states, one standard.

Here's the absurdity baked into current law: the same operator who cleared rooms in Kandahar and qualified on more weapons platforms than most police departments own must—today, right now—navigate 50 different state carry regimes the moment he touches American soil. In states run by politicians who consider the Second Amendment a loophole to close, that operator is legally naked.

**That's not a technicality. That's an insult written into law.**

Harrigan's bill fixes it by mirroring the framework of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act—LEOSA—which already grants qualified current and retired law enforcement officers nationwide concealed carry authority. SOF operators train harder, shoot more rounds annually, and operate in higher-threat environments than virtually any LEO on the planet. The logical case for extending LEOSA-style authority to them isn't just strong. It's unanswerable.

Unless your real goal is disarming Americans—uniform, veteran, or otherwise.

Harrigan himself is a combat veteran and former Army Ranger. This isn't a press-release bill from a politician who's never touched a rifle. He's a lawmaker who lived the gap this legislation closes.

The bill covers both active-duty SOF personnel and veterans who served in special operations roles—the full spectrum of operators whose marksmanship and weapons-handling standards rank among the most rigorous on Earth. These are not casual shooters seeking a convenience. These are the tip of the American spear asking for the same legal footing already extended to retired cops.

**Watch which members of Congress go quiet when co-sponsorship calls come in.** Their silence won't be subtle—it'll be a screaming admission that honoring military service matters less to them than keeping elite veterans disarmed in their jurisdictions.

This bill is as close to consensus legislation as 2A gets: military respect plus constitutional carry logic, wrapped in a framework Congress already accepted with LEOSA. Any opposition is purely ideological—politicians choosing anti-gun politics over the people who bled for this country.

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**What you do right now:** Call your representative and demand they co-sponsor the Special Operations Forces Concealed Carry Act. If your rep sits on House Judiciary or Armed Services, that call carries extra weight—those are the committees where this bill lives or dies. Don't let SOF veterans keep getting harassed by anti-gun states for carrying the same firearm they carried into combat. Make the call. Share this story. **Let's see who in Congress actually respects the warriors they love to photograph at Veterans Day events.**