Idaho doesn't have a red flag law. Full stop. That's the headline, and for most of you that's probably enough — but the mechanics of how these things work in other states are worth understanding, especially if you travel, compete, or have family in ERPO states. "ERPO laws, on the other hand, may be used to prevent harm when a person is suicidal, has not made a threat against a specific individual, or when they may be a danger to others broadly." — Giffords Law Center That's the key distinction most people miss when this topic comes up at the gun shop counter. A domestic violence order is about protecting a specific person from a specific threat — an ERPO is a broader net. Someone can have their guns pulled without ever naming a specific target or committing any crime. That's the part that makes gun owners uneasy, and reasonably so. "In all states, ERPOs are civil, not criminal, court orders. However, violation of an ERPO law may be a criminal offense depending on state law." — National ERPO Resource Center This is a detail worth sitting with. The order that takes your guns is civil — lower burden of proof, no public defender, no jury. But if you don't comply with it, you're suddenly in criminal territory. That's an asymmetry that matters if you ever find yourself in a state where these laws exist. The ex parte structure — where a judge can issue an emergency order before you've said a single word in your own defense — is the piece that drives the NRA's "say-so of someone else" argument. Whether you think that concern is overblown or dead-on probably depends on how much you trust the civil court system. Worth noting that Idaho's neighbors to the west (Oregon, Washington) and northwest (Idaho-adjacent Nevada) all have ERPO laws on the books, so if you're driving through or competing out of state, you're passing through ERPO territory whether you think about it or not. Idaho sits in an interesting middle ground right now — no ERPO law, but also no statute expressly prohibiting one like Montana, Wyoming, and Texas have passed. Six states have gone out of their way to slam that door shut legislatively. Idaho hasn't felt the need to do that yet, or hasn't gotten around to it — the article doesn't say which. For those of you who travel with firearms for matches or hunting: have you ever looked into the specific ERPO mechanics in states you regularly pass through or compete in, and did it change anything about how you handle your gear or documentation on those trips? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Been carrying in Idaho long enough to remember when the preemption question wasn't as clean as it is now. The 2023 Herndon case and the statutory response to it changed some real-world situations that affect where you can carry on a Tuesday afternoon — not just edge cases. The practical result: Boise can't pass a city ordinance banning guns in city hall any more than a rural county can ban carry at the county courthouse — at least not through local ordinance. This is the piece a lot of Idaho carriers don't fully internalize. Preemption means you don't need to look up Boise's policy versus Nampa's policy versus Twin Falls' policy. The state set the floor and the ceiling. That's genuinely useful — but it also means the exceptions that do exist are state-level exceptions, and they apply everywhere. A city park rented out for a private wedding could post a no-firearms policy. The same park on a regular Tuesday afternoon — almost certainly cannot. "Almost certainly" is doing some work in that sentence, and I'd note it for anyone who treats that as gospel. The statute says what it says, but you're still the one standing in front of a magistrate if something goes sideways. That said, this is a meaningful protection against agencies quietly putting up signs and hoping nobody reads the code. Enhanced license holders cannot carry within student dormitories or residence halls — within the building of a "public entertainment facility" owned by the college or university — think theaters, auditoriums, sports arenas with seating capacity of at least 1,000 — if that facility is properly posted. The enhanced license is an 8-hour class with live fire. That's a Saturday. If you work on a state campus or your kid goes to Boise State and you visit regularly, that enhanced license is the difference between being subject to campus board discretion and having a statutory right. Most people I've talked to at the counter haven't bothered because they don't think they "need" it — but this is exactly the situation where the paper matters. Permitless carry framework tells you when you don't need a license — it doesn't suspend the location-specific prohibitions. Worth printing out and taping above the safe. Permitless carry gave a lot of people the impression that the rules simplified across the board. They didn't. The courthouse is still the courthouse. For anyone who carries regularly in the Treasure Valley or spends time on a state campus — have you actually looked up your specific institution's firearms policy, or have you been operating on assumptions about what the enhanced license covers? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Idaho sits in a genuinely unusual position on this stuff — no assault weapon ban, no magazine limits, no permit to purchase, and a state constitution that explicitly blocks registration schemes. Most of what you'll read online about "assault weapon laws" doesn't even apply here. But there's a federal layer sitting under all of it, and that's where people actually get sideways. Building or reconfiguring a firearm in a way that creates an NFA item without going through the federal process first — for example, cutting down a rifle barrel below 16 inches without an approved Form 1 — is a federal felony regardless of Idaho's permissive state laws. I've had this conversation at the gun shop counter more times than I can count. Guy buys a pistol-configuration AR, gets a stock kit off the internet, slaps it on — and now he's holding an unregistered SBR. Idaho doesn't care. ATF very much does. The state's permissiveness can actually make people sloppy about federal rules because they're not used to worrying about this stuff. The federal legal status of bump stocks following that ruling is unsettled as of early 2026. This is the honest answer and most people don't want to hear it. After Cargill vacated the ATF rule, there's genuine ambiguity — and in my experience, "unsettled federal law" is not a place you want to be standing when you're the one holding the item in question. Patience costs nothing here. Idaho S1349 ... would establish a "contingent authorization" for Idaho residents to lawfully possess, manufacture, transfer, and sell machine guns if federal restrictions on civilian machine gun ownership are repealed, invalidated, or otherwise become unenforceable. This is a smart piece of legislative positioning whether it ever triggers or not. It puts Idaho on record. Worth watching — especially given the broader 2A litigation landscape right now where the Hughes Amendment's constitutionality is getting more serious scrutiny than it has in decades. For those of you who've built AR pistols or SBR'd a rifle through the Form 1 process — where did you actually learn the ATF configuration rules well enough to feel confident you weren't accidentally crossing a line, and was there a point in that process where you realized you'd been doing something wrong before you figured it out? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Long article, so there's a lot to chew on here. Idaho's reputation as a "carry anywhere" state is mostly earned — but mostly isn't the same as completely, and the gaps matter depending on how you carry and where you go. Idaho Enhanced Concealed Weapons License holders are exempt from the GFSZA under the statute's licensed-carrier exception. Standard permitless carriers are not covered by that federal exemption, which means a loaded handgun in your car within 1,000 feet of a school creates federal legal exposure if you're carrying without an Idaho Enhanced License. This one catches people off guard. You're driving your normal route, maybe dropping off a kid, and you're inside that 1,000-foot bubble with a loaded pistol under your seat. No signs posted, no gates, nothing telling you the zone starts there. The Enhanced License isn't just a reciprocity card — it's a quiet layer of protection on routes you probably drive every single week. Here's the practical legal reality: carrying past a "no firearms" sign in Idaho doesn't violate the weapons statutes. It triggers trespass law. This is the distinction that gets lost at the gun store counter constantly. You're not getting arrested for a weapons violation — you're getting asked to leave, and the obligation is to leave. That said, "it's just trespass" isn't a reason to be cavalier about it. A trespass charge at the wrong moment is still a charge, and it's still going to show up when you renew or apply for things. Per Idaho Code § 18-3302K, Enhanced License holders get two significant location-access benefits that permitless carriers and standard license holders don't: Campus carry access at public colleges and universities... Federal GFSZA exemption for the area surrounding K-12 schools Eight hours of class time and a $20 fee to carry on a public university campus and not have federal exposure near schools. If you're doing any kind of regular travel — work trips, driving through other states with your carry gun — the reciprocity bump to roughly 38 states makes the math even easier. I've had this conversation with half a dozen people at the range who didn't know the Enhanced License existed as a separate tier. Idaho Code § 18-3302J preempts all local ordinances... The exception is discharge. Preemption is what keeps the patchwork from getting ridiculous. Worth knowing that a city can still regulate where you discharge — so if you're ever looking at putting in a backyard range or shooting on your property inside city limits, check local ordinances. Possession and carry? State law runs that show. Pulling the trigger in town? Different question. What's your actual setup — are you running on permitless carry alone, do you have the standard license, or have you gone through the Enhanced qualification? And if you have the Enhanced, what was the deciding factor? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Idaho has two concealed weapons licenses, and most people carrying under constitutional carry don't know — or don't care — until they're planning a road trip and realize their home-state permitless carry stops at the state line. Idaho enacted the Enhanced license framework in 2015 via 2015 ID H.B. 301. The reason it exists is straightforward: some states won't honor Idaho's basic CWL because its training requirements are minimal or discretionary. That's the whole game right there. The Enhanced wasn't created for Idaho — it was created for everywhere else. If you never leave the state, it's largely academic. But if you drive to Colorado or Virginia with a gun in the console, the distinction matters a lot. Per the Idaho State Police FAQ, military veterans, former law enforcement, and people who have completed Enhanced training in other states do not get credit unless that training was specifically Idaho Enhanced CWL training. A decorated combat veteran still has to sit through the eight hours. I've had this exact conversation at the shop counter. Guy comes in with 20 years of infantry service and wants to know if he can skip the class. Answer is no — Idaho law doesn't care about your deployment history. I understand the frustration, but the eight hours exist to satisfy other states' reciprocity requirements, not Idaho's opinion of your competence. The legal training must be provided by a licensed Idaho attorney or an Idaho peace officer with a minimum Intermediate POST certificate. That's not a suggestion — it's baked into the course requirements. This is worth checking before you sign up for a class. Not every instructor advertising "Enhanced CWL training" has actually read § 18-3302K closely enough to know their legal portion needs a qualified attorney or POST-certified officer on the curriculum. Ask before you pay. Reciprocity agreements can and do change when statutory language in either state changes — always verify current status before traveling. This is the part people skip and then get burned by. States quietly update their recognition lists when they pass new legislation. Don't rely on a reciprocity map you bookmarked two years ago — pull the Idaho State Police page before any out-of-state trip where you're carrying. For those of you who've made the jump from basic CWL to Enhanced, or who did the Enhanced first: was the eight-hour course worth it beyond just the reciprocity expansion, and did you actually learn anything in the legal portion that changed how you think about carrying? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Spent some time this week going over Idaho's magazine capacity laws — or the lack of them — and there are a few pieces worth talking through, especially for anyone who just moved here from a restricted state or is thinking about a road trip west. "Idaho does not have laws restricting 'assault weapons,' 'large capacity' magazines, personally made/unserialized firearms, or accelerators (bump stocks, forced reset triggers)." That covers a lot of ground in one sentence. If you've been running 10-round pinned mags because that's what you had to do in your last state, you can retire those. Your 30-round PMAGs aren't a liability at a local match — they're just magazines. "Except as expressly authorized by state statute, no county, city, agency, board or any other political subdivision of this state may adopt or enforce any law, rule, regulation, or ordinance which regulates in any manner the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, transportation, carrying or storage of firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof, including ammunition." The Jerome County example cited in the article is worth paying attention to — a county tried to ban weapons in an admin building and had to walk it back after a legal review. Preemption isn't just words on paper in Idaho, it's been tested. That matters when you're figuring out whether your carry setup changes depending on what city you're driving through. "For Washington and Oregon specifically, if you're driving through with 30-round magazines, you need to understand those states' current law before your wheels cross the state line." Oregon's Measure 114 situation is still a mess legally, and I wouldn't rely on assumptions about what's currently enforceable. Before you load up the truck for a hunting trip or a PNW match, make a call — either to an attorney or at minimum pull the current status from a source that's been updated in the last 60 days. The range bag that's totally fine in Boise can become a problem before you hit the Snake River crossing. For anyone who's made the move here from a capacity-restricted state — what's the first thing you changed about your gear setup once you had access to standard-capacity magazines again? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Been thinking about self-defense law a lot lately — especially after a conversation at the counter of a local shop where a guy was genuinely unclear on whether his Stand Your Ground rights extended to his truck. They do, but there's more to it than that. Worth digging into the actual statutes here. (2) For purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section, a person who unlawfully and by force or by stealth enters or attempts to enter a habitation, place of business or employment or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit a felony. That word "presumed" is doing a lot of heavy lifting — and it's in your favor. At 2 AM when someone's coming through your door, Idaho law doesn't ask you to read their mind. The burden flips to the prosecution. That's not nothing. A church, a parking lot, a hiking trail — if you're legally there, you have no legal obligation to run before defending yourself. Leroy drew a sharp and important distinction, though. Outside your home, your rights are "much weaker" and your conduct will be "much more closely examined." This is the part people skip when they say "Idaho is Stand Your Ground" like it ends the conversation. The presumption stays home — it doesn't ride along in your truck or follow you to the trailhead. Outside your property, you still have to satisfy the reasonableness standard on your own, and a jury gets to weigh in on whether you did. Per North Idaho Law Group, starting the confrontation can forfeit a self-defense claim. The statute is explicit in subsection (c) — if you were the assailant, you had to genuinely attempt to withdraw before deadly force is justified again. This is the one that catches people off guard at the range when it comes up. The law isn't a blank check for whoever draws first. If you escalated it, you own it — unless you clearly tried to back out and the other person kept coming. That distinction matters enormously in court. If you are running illegal operations from your home, Castle Doctrine protections may not apply. Almost goes without saying, but here it is in black and white. Keep your house clean. The civil immunity provision is the piece I think most Idaho carriers haven't fully internalized — a criminal finding of justification and a civil suit are two separate tracks running on different standards of evidence. You can win one and still get buried by the other. Where does this hit home for you — have you ever had a serious conversation with a lawyer, a class instructor, or even just a knowledgeable friend about what you'd actually do immediately after a defensive shooting, and did it change how you think about your carry setup or home defense plan? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Most Idaho shooters know we're in good shape on magazine restrictions — but a lot of guys at the range don't think past the state line, and that's where it gets expensive. "Idaho imposes zero restrictions on magazine capacity. No round limit, no registration of high-capacity magazines, no ban on purchase or possession, no grandfathering requirements because there's nothing to grandfather." Nothing to grandfather is the part worth sitting with. States like Massachusetts and Connecticut have these byzantine pre-ban possession rules where you're essentially playing a legal archaeology game to figure out if your mag is compliant. We don't have that problem here, and it's not an accident — it's the constitutional framework doing exactly what it was written to do. "The preemption is full, not partial. Per NRA-ILA, no political subdivision can modify firearm regulations beyond what the state has authorized." Worth knowing if you're heading to a match in Boise versus one outside the city limits. A lot of people assume city councils have some wiggle room on this stuff. They don't. That preemption statute from 2008 closed the door — the discharge carveout is the only thing municipalities kept, and that's reasonable. "FOPA safe passage is a defense in federal court, not a guarantee you won't be detained. New York and New Jersey have arrested travelers in documented cases." This is the one people skip over. I've had guys at the cleaning bench tell me they're driving through New Jersey on their way to a match and figure FOPA has them covered. FOPA is a defense you raise after you've already been cuffed. If your route from here to a match on the East Coast clips a magazine-ban state, either swap out your mags before the trip or route around it — because the alternative is explaining your situation from a holding cell. "Your Idaho rights don't travel with you." Five words that should be on a sticker at every LGS counter near the travel section. Idaho's framework is solid at home. The moment you cross into Oregon or Colorado with a 30-rounder in your range bag, their law is the only law that matters. For anyone who's done a road trip to a match or competition in a restriction state — how did you handle the magazine situation, and did you plan it out ahead of time or figure it out on the fly? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Long article, so there's a lot to unpack here — but two pieces stand out as genuinely actionable for Idaho gun owners right now, and one that's worth watching carefully. "Beginning in 2026, the federal tax stamp — the infamous $200 fee paid on each NFA item transfer or manufacturing application — is eliminated for: Suppressors, Short-barreled rifles (SBRs), Short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), Any Other Weapons (AOWs) and similar categories." That $200 has been a psychological barrier more than a financial one for most people — but it did slow down impulse buys. Removing it for suppressors and SBRs means the Form 4 queue is about to get a lot longer. If you've been sitting on a can purchase, you might want to get your paperwork in before the rush hits ATF's inbox. "Except as expressly authorized by state statute, no county, city, agency, board or any other political subdivision of this state may adopt or enforce any law, rule, regulation, or ordinance which regulates in any manner the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, transportation, carrying or storage of firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof." This matters more than most people realize. Full preemption means the City of Boise can't decide suppressors need a local permit, and Blaine County can't quietly pass something weird during an election year. What you can legally do statewide, you can legally do in every corner of the state — that's not the case everywhere. "S1349 does not immediately legalize new machine guns. It establishes a contingent authorization activated only by one of four specific federal-level events." Contingent legislation is an interesting play — it's essentially Idaho pre-positioning itself so there's no scramble if § 922(o) falls in court. The IFF's federalism critique is worth reading though. Tying state law to federal law changes means Congress or ATF can effectively rewrite Idaho's statute without the legislature touching it. That's a real tension. "Only approximately 250,000–300,000 transferable 'pre-86' machine guns exist nationwide, and they command premium prices — often $20,000–$50,000 or more depending on the model." I've handled a few transferable registered receivers at matches over the years — they're not curiosities, they're investments that happen to be fun. If § 922(o) ever does fall and new manufacture opens up, that market collapses overnight. Anyone sitting on a pre-86 MAC or MP5 is watching this legislation very carefully for reasons that have nothing to do with range days. For those of you who've gone through the NFA process in Idaho — did you set up a trust, or did you go individual? Curious whether the trust setup actually paid off for people in practice or if it's mostly useful on paper. Read the full article in The Handbook →

Spent some time going through this piece on Idaho's concealed carry laws — the kind of reference you'd want before a road trip or before someone at the LGS counter gives you half an answer and calls it good. "The people have the right to keep and bear arms, which right shall not be abridged. No law may impose licensure, registration or special taxation on the ownership or possession of firearms or ammunition." Most people know Idaho is a strong 2A state but don't realize the constitution spells it out in plain terms — no registration, no permit-to-purchase, no ammo background check, none of it. That's not just political posture, it's baked into the document that constrains the legislature. "Idaho recognizes permits from all 50 states." Broad recognition on the inbound side is genuinely useful — you're not guessing when you cross the state line into Idaho. The outbound picture is where it gets complicated, and this is where I see people get burned when they're heading out to Nevada or Washington thinking their standard CWL covers them the same as their enhanced would. "The legal portion of the enhanced course — Idaho law and use of deadly force — must currently be taught by a licensed Idaho attorney or an Idaho peace officer with at minimum an Intermediate POST certificate." Worth paying attention to if you're shopping for enhanced courses. Not all instructors offering ECWL training are actually qualified to teach the legal portion — and if that piece doesn't meet requirements, your training certificate isn't going to hold up at the sheriff's window. "Reciprocity agreements shift... check that page before traveling, not a third-party map that may be months out of date." This one I'd underline twice. I've seen people print out a reciprocity map from some aggregator site, carry it in the car like it's gospel, and not realize the agreement changed six months ago. The ISP BCI page is two clicks away — there's no excuse for relying on a screenshot from a Facebook group. If you're an Idaho carrier who's done the enhanced course — who taught your legal portion, attorney or POST-certified officer, and did that ever come up when you submitted your application? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Spent some time going through Idaho's actual self-defense statute recently — § 19-202A — because the version floating around at the range and behind the gun shop counter is about half right at best. Worth laying out what it actually says. § 19-202A(3): A person may stand his ground and defend himself or another person by the use of all force and means which would appear to be necessary to a reasonable person in a similar situation and with similar knowledge without the benefit of hindsight. That "without the benefit of hindsight" language is doing serious work. A jury evaluates your decision from where you were standing — what you knew, what you saw, what was happening in that moment — not from a conference room six months later with full information. That's a meaningful protection, and most people carrying daily have never read that sentence. § 19-202A(4): The burden is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the use of force...was not justifiable. The article makes a point worth repeating: that burden shift happens at trial, not at the scene. It doesn't stop you from getting arrested, charged, or spending a year grinding through the system before that provision ever does anything for you. Carry insurance or a legal plan if you're carrying — this is exactly why. Per Schofield Young PLLC, if someone is stealing your property from your yard, reasonable non-deadly force to stop it may be lawful. Reaching for a firearm because someone took your lawn ornament is not. Defense-of-property situations are where I've heard the worst takes at the range — and I've heard some real ones over the years. You cannot shoot someone for taking your stuff. The Castle Doctrine presumption in § 19-202A(5) is specifically tied to unlawful entry into an occupied space, not property theft in a parking lot or your front yard. Those are two completely different legal situations and a lot of people have them blurred together. § 19-202A(5): A person using force or deadly force in defense of a habitation, place of business or employment or occupied vehicle...is presumed to have acted reasonably...if the force is used against a person whose entry or attempted entry therein is unlawful and is made or attempted by use of force, or in a violent and tumultuous manner, or surreptitiously or by stealth, or for the purpose of committing a felony. The occupied vehicle piece matters if you spend any time driving with a firearm. The presumption attaches to the occupied vehicle the same way it does to your home — but only if the entry is unlawful and meets one of those specific conditions. An invited passenger who turns violent is a different situation than someone forcing entry into your locked car. When did you last actually read the statute your carry permit is supposed to operate under — and did anything in the actual text surprise you compared to what you thought you knew? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Long-haul road trips and daily drivers — Idaho vehicle transport law affects both, and most people are either overcomplicating it or making assumptions that'll get them jammed up the second they cross a state line. Idaho allows you to transport firearms in your vehicle loaded or unloaded, concealed or in plain sight, without a permit -- as long as you can legally possess a firearm and you meet the age requirements. That's the whole game for in-state driving. I've had this conversation at the LGS counter more times than I can count — people shocked that there's no special storage requirement, no lock box, no unloaded rule. You're legal, you're good, drive on. The legal possession requirement is doing a lot of work in that sentence. If you're a prohibited person -- prior felony conviction, domestic violence misdemeanor, active restraining order, or any other federal disqualifier -- none of Idaho's permissive transport rules apply to you. The vehicle doesn't create an exception to federal law. Worth saying out loud: Idaho being permissive doesn't create a workaround for federal law. I've heard people talk themselves into believing their situation was different. It isn't. If you stop in California or New York for more than a brief, necessary stop, you're exposed to those states' laws. FOPA's safe passage provision is real, but it's not a force field — and "brief, necessary stop" has been interpreted very narrowly in places like New Jersey and New York. If you're route-planning a cross-country drive, especially towing an RV, this is the piece that deserves an hour of research before you leave the driveway. When transporting registered NFA items, carry your ATF Form 4 (or Form 3, depending on the transfer) with the item at all times. Technically not required, but I keep mine in the same bag as the suppressor — every single time. The alternative is trying to explain yourself roadside while someone runs the serial number. That's a problem I don't need on a match day. For those of you who regularly drive into Washington or Oregon with a firearm in the vehicle — how are you handling it, and have you updated your approach given the legislative changes those states have been making lately? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Been carrying in Idaho long enough to remember when permitless carry was still being debated at the Statehouse. The laws here are genuinely permissive — but "permissive" and "no restrictions anywhere" aren't the same thing, and the gaps are where people catch charges they didn't see coming. No law may impose licensure, registration or special taxation on the ownership or possession of firearms or ammunition. That's not just political language — it's a hard constitutional ceiling on what any Idaho legislator can even propose. When you hear people in other states fighting permit-to-purchase schemes or ammo registration bills, we're sitting here with a constitution that explicitly bans those by name. That matters every time you stop at the counter. Idaho Enhanced Concealed Weapons License holders have an exemption from the federal GFSZA provision — standard permitless carriers do not. This one catches people. You're driving to the range, kid's school is on the way, you cut through the parking lot — now you're inside 1,000 feet with a loaded gun and no enhanced license. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act doesn't care how clean your record is or how permissive Idaho law is. If you're a regular driver in any suburban area, this is worth knowing before you need to know it. Enhanced license holders may also carry on public university campuses under Idaho's campus carry law. This is the other practical reason to get the enhanced over the standard, beyond reciprocity. If you work on or near a university campus, or you're a student, the eight-hour course and live-fire requirement suddenly look a lot more worth your Saturday. Selling to someone you know or reasonably should know is prohibited from possessing firearms creates liability under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d). Private sales here require zero paperwork under state law — and that's fine — but this federal hook is real. The guy at the gun show who seems a little off, the neighbor who mentions he had "some legal trouble." You don't get to play dumb if it later comes out you had reason to know. Something to think about before you hand over a firearm for cash and a handshake. For those of you who've gotten the enhanced license — was reciprocity, the GFSZA exemption, or the NICS bypass at the counter the actual reason you went through the course, or did something specific push you toward it? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Private party sales in Idaho are as straightforward as state law gets — hand over the gun, take the money, go home. But "straightforward" and "consequence-free if you screw it up" are two very different things, and the federal exposure on a bad private sale is real enough that it's worth knowing exactly where the lines are. Idaho puts full responsibility on the seller to avoid transferring to a prohibited person, then gives you zero state-level tools to verify anything. You're working on good faith, ID verification, and common sense. This is the core tension of Idaho's framework, and it's worth sitting with for a second. The state trusts you completely and helps you not at all. That's not a complaint — I'd rather have it this way than a mandatory background check system — but it means you carry the liability alone if you sell to the wrong person. Handguns can only transfer in private sales to Idaho residents. If your buyer lives in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, or anywhere outside Idaho, you cannot hand them a pistol in a parking lot and call it legal. The number of people who don't know this is genuinely surprising. I've heard this misunderstood at gun show tables, in gun shop parking lots, and at the range. "Idaho doesn't require paperwork" gets repeated like a magic phrase that covers all situations — it doesn't. Out-of-state buyer on a handgun means FFL in their state, full stop. Cleaning out a deceased relative's gun safe over the course of a year or two? Generally fine. Buying five pistols at a gun show with the plan to flip them for profit the following weekend? That's dealing without a license, and it's a federal felony regardless of how many individual sales stay under some imaginary threshold. People get comfortable with the "no magic number" gray zone and start treating it as a loophole. The ATF looks at pattern and intent — not transaction count. If you're buying to resell at a profit on a regular basis, you're a dealer. Get a license or stop doing it. The most legally conservative approach, even though Idaho doesn't require it, is meeting at an FFL. The buyer gets a background check on record, you get documented proof of the sale, and everyone has paper if questions come up later. More Idaho sellers are doing this voluntarily for expensive firearms or sales to strangers. Twenty-five to fifty bucks to have a paper trail and a background check on a gun you're selling to someone you met on Facebook Marketplace is one of the cheapest pieces of insurance you can buy. I've done this on higher-dollar rifles even when I knew the buyer — not because I doubted him, but because I'd rather have that documentation sitting in a drawer than explain myself to a federal agent three years later. For those of you who have sold firearms privately in Idaho — what's your actual process when it's a stranger rather than someone you know personally? Do you ask for a CWL, meet at an FFL, use a bill of sale, or some combination? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Idaho runs Constitutional Carry, which sounds simple until you're standing in the parking lot of a Boise State building wondering if your enhanced permit actually covers you inside. The gap between "permitless carry state" and "carry anywhere you want" is where people get into trouble. Idaho law allows concealed carrying without a license by a person over 18 years old who is a citizen of the United States or a current member of the armed forces of the United States, and who is not otherwise prohibited. That 18-and-up floor matters more than people realize. A lot of guys at the range assume the age was always 18 — it wasn't. House Bill 206 in 2019 is what dropped it from 21. If you've got a kid heading off to college who's 18-20 and wants a permit for out-of-state reciprocity, there's a provisional license path worth knowing about. Permitless carry does not mean anyone can carry. Federal prohibitions are fully enforceable in Idaho regardless of state law. If you're federally prohibited, you're prohibited — full stop. Worth repeating at every gun counter in the Treasure Valley. Constitutional Carry doesn't carve out exceptions from federal law — it never did. The number of people who conflate "no permit required" with "no restrictions apply" is not zero. Within Idaho, an enhanced permit gives you no additional carry rights over permitless carry on the street. Its value is strictly for out-of-state reciprocity and campus carry privileges. This is the thing most people at the local gun shop either don't know or explain wrong. If you never leave Idaho and don't set foot on a college campus, the enhanced permit costs you money and a Saturday. If you drive through Nevada or Utah regularly, or your kid goes to U of I, it's worth the 8-hour class and the 98 rounds — which honestly isn't a bad day at the range anyway. In Idaho, a business owner who posts a sign isn't creating a separate firearms offense if you ignore it. What they can do is communicate the prohibition verbally, and if you refuse to comply, you're looking at trespass, not a firearms charge. This is a real and meaningful distinction from states like Texas where a properly posted 30.06 sign carries legal weight. In Idaho, the sign is a request with teeth only if they ask you to leave and you don't. Know the difference before you travel — what applies here doesn't apply everywhere. For those of you carrying in Idaho or traveling out of state with a permit — what pushed you to get the enhanced over just riding on permitless carry, or what's kept you from bothering with the permit at all? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Idaho's permitless carry law is genuinely useful — until you're near a school and suddenly you're navigating two separate legal frameworks at the same time without realizing it. Idaho's permitless carry law does not override a federal prohibition. If you're relying on Idaho's permitless carry and you're within that 1,000-foot bubble, federal law may still apply to you. Most guys I've talked to at the counter assume that Idaho's permitless carry is a blanket green light. It isn't. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act doesn't care what Boise passed or what the legislature signed — and 1,000 feet is a bigger radius than it sounds when you're talking about neighborhoods where schools sit on residential streets. The vehicle exception has a practical catch: the NRA-ILA summary of Idaho law specifies the firearm must be secured and locked in the vehicle "in an unobtrusive, nonthreatening manner." A pistol sitting on your dashboard while you drop off your kid isn't going to cut it. If you're a parent doing the morning school run with a pistol on your hip, that firearm needs to be in the vehicle — locked, out of sight — before you pull into the lot. Worth thinking through before the first day of school rather than after. The notification to law enforcement piece isn't optional. It's a requirement built into the statute, and it exists so responding officers know who the armed staff member is before they walk through the door. This is the part of HB 89 that doesn't get enough attention. A school employee carrying under this provision isn't anonymous — local PD, the sheriff, and ISP all get a photo and a copy of the license. That's a real operational consideration, not just paperwork. If you carry regularly and you've ever dropped a kid off at school, picked someone up from a college dorm, or driven through a school-heavy neighborhood — how did you handle it, and did you know the federal 1,000-foot rule was in play at the time? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Been carrying in this state long enough to remember when the permit conversation was simpler. Now that constitutional carry is the baseline here, the permit question is almost entirely about what happens when you leave Idaho — and that's worth understanding before you cross a state line with a gun on your hip. Idaho runs two separate concealed weapons licenses, and which one you carry determines where you can legally carry across state lines -- roughly 13 additional states will only honor the Enhanced version. That's not a small number. If you road trip regularly — Spokane, Vegas, Denver, the whole Mountain West circuit — the difference between a basic CWL and the Enhanced is potentially the difference between legal carry and a felony stop. Worth knowing before you pack for a hunting trip through Nevada. There are no exceptions, no waivers, and no workarounds -- even if you're a retired law enforcement officer, active military, or an NRA-certified pistol instructor. This comes up constantly at the counter. Guys with decades of trigger time assume their background gets them a shortcut. It doesn't. The 8-hour course with 98 rounds fired and an Idaho-licensed attorney or POST-certified officer covering the legal portion — that's the requirement, full stop. I've heard more than a few experienced shooters grumble about it, but honestly, the legal portion alone is worth sitting through. Most people who've been carrying for years have never had an Idaho attorney walk them through use-of-force law in a classroom setting. Per Idaho Code § 18-3302(2) and the Idaho Sheriffs' Association, a concealed weapon includes any dirk, dirk knife, bowie knife, dagger, pistol, revolver, or any other deadly or dangerous weapon carried on a person in a manner not discernible by ordinary observation. People focus on the gun and forget the blade. If you're carrying a fixed blade tucked under a jacket, that's covered under the same statutes. The 4-inch-or-under exemption is useful to know, but anything bigger and you're in concealed weapons territory whether you thought about it that way or not. Per Idaho Code § 18-310, an Idaho felony conviction results in automatic restoration of firearms rights upon final discharge from sentence -- but this applies only to Idaho felony convictions. Felonies from other states do not receive automatic restoration. This one trips people up badly. Someone moves here from another state, does their time years ago, assumes their rights are restored because Idaho law is relatively favorable — and they're wrong. If your conviction happened out of state, automatic restoration doesn't apply. That's a conversation for an attorney, not a gun store counter, and definitely not something to guess at. For those of you who've gone through the Enhanced course — what was the training quality actually like, and did the legal instruction portion cover anything that surprised you? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Idaho sits in an interesting spot legally — one of the most permissive states for gun owners on paper, but there are real traps buried in the code that can bite you if you're not paying attention. Spent some time going through this breakdown of the prohibited places framework and there's a few things worth talking through. "A sign without statutory authority doesn't create a criminal prohibition under Idaho's preemption scheme." This is the part most people get backwards at the LGS counter. A no-guns sticker on a city building doesn't carry the weight of law unless the state gave that entity the authority to restrict carry — and in Idaho, that list is short. You can still be asked to leave private property, but that's a trespass issue, not a criminal carry charge. "The courthouse prohibition is the one that catches people most often. If you drive to the county courthouse to renew your vehicle registration and you're carrying — that's a problem." This is worth burning into memory. People think of courthouses as the place you go for court — not for DMV business, not for property records, not for any of the dozen routine errands that happen to land you in that building. The statute doesn't care why you walked in. "A standard concealed weapons license doesn't get you onto a college campus if the university has adopted firearms regulations. You need an enhanced license for that campus carry protection." If you've got family at BSU or U of I and you're making the drive to help them move in, this distinction matters in a real and practical way. The enhanced license isn't just a reciprocity upgrade — it's a different tier of carry rights inside Idaho's own borders. The 8-hour live-fire course requirement is reasonable, and frankly if campus carry is part of your life it's worth the Saturday. "Permitless carry does not override prohibited-place restrictions. Carrying without a permit in a courthouse is still illegal — the permitless carry law only removes the license requirement for otherwise lawful carry in otherwise lawful locations." This gets glossed over constantly. Constitutional carry is not a blanket pass. The 2016 change removed the license requirement for carry — it didn't erase the prohibited places list. These are two separate parts of the code, and they don't cancel each other out. For those of you who carry regularly around the Treasure Valley — where have you personally had to think through whether you were legal or not before walking into a government building? Courthouse, school pickup line, anything. Curious what situations actually come up in practice versus what people theorize about. Read the full article in The Handbook →

Been seeing more questions lately at the counter about what actually disqualifies someone from owning a firearm in Idaho — and most of the confusion comes from people thinking Idaho's permissive laws mean they're in the clear. They're not always. The article breaks down both the federal and state frameworks, and a couple of things stood out that every Idaho shooter should understand. "Upon final discharge, a person convicted of any Idaho felony shall be restored the full rights of citizenship, except that for persons convicted of treason or those offenses enumerated in paragraphs (a) through (hh) of this subsection the right to ship, transport, possess or receive a firearm shall not be restored." — Idaho Code § 18-310(2) That "automatic restoration" piece catches people off guard — in a good way and a bad way. Good because some felony convictions in Idaho do restore your rights without you having to do anything after final discharge. Bad because people assume they're covered when their specific conviction is on that enumerated list, and they're not. "Possession under federal law includes both actual possession (the gun is on your person) and constructive possession (the gun is somewhere you have access to and control over — your car, your home, your workplace)." This one matters for everyone at the range, not just prohibited persons. Think about the friend you let shoot your rifle, or the family member staying at your house. If a prohibited person has access to your safe and knows the combination, that's potentially constructive possession. Your guns, their felony charge. "The trigger is the potential sentence, not what you actually received. If you were convicted of a crime that could have resulted in more than a year in prison — even if you got probation — you're a prohibited person under federal law." Probation feels like getting off light, and in a lot of ways it is. But it doesn't move the needle on federal prohibited status. Someone who got two years probation for a wobbler offense and never saw a day inside can still be looking at a federal felony charge for picking up a .22 at a gun show. That gap between "I didn't go to prison" and "I'm still prohibited" is where people get caught. The article also flags the Gutierrez case — an Idaho Supreme Court situation where someone thought their state rights were restored and the feds disagreed. It's cut off before the resolution, but the point stands: state clearance does not automatically mean federal clearance, and that gap has sent people to federal prison. Question for the group: Have you ever had a conversation at the range or gun shop where someone was surprised to learn they might be prohibited — or that a rights restoration they thought was complete didn't cover them federally? Read the full article in The Handbook →

Ninth Circuit Strikes California Open-Carry Ban The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down California's urban open-carry ban Friday, ruling the state cannot prohibit permits in counties with populations over 200,000—covering 95% of Californians. Why it matters: This creates a direct circuit split with the Second Circuit and puts California's "ban one mode, allow another" approach to carry laws on shaky ground nationwide. The 2-1 decision in Baird v. Bonta applies the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen standard, which requires gun restrictions to match historical traditions from the founding era. Judge Lawrence VanDyke wrote that open carry "predates ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791" and remains legal in over 30 states today. California argued it could ban open carry since concealed carry permits are available statewide. The majority rejected this logic entirely. "Bruen does not permit a state to ban one mode of carry simply because another is allowed," the court wrote. "Concealed and open carry are not fungible under the Nation's historical tradition." Between the lines: California's own conduct undermines its rural licensing claims. Judge Lee's concurrence highlighted that the state admits "no record of even one open-carry license being issued" in smaller counties, despite claiming a functioning permit system exists there. The case started in 2019 when Mark Baird of Siskiyou County (population 42,000) couldn't obtain an open-carry permit despite living in a county supposedly covered by the "shall-issue" rural licensing scheme. What they're saying: The decision exposes how California has handled carry permits: State's admission: No open-carry licenses issued despite claiming a working system Plaintiff Baird: "Do we have enumerated rights or don't we? This has less to do with the gun than it does the liberty" Judge Lee's concurrence: California uses "subterfuge" with a 17-page concealed-carry form that "nowhere mentions open carry" Dissenting Judge Smith: States should be able to "eliminate one mode so long as it does not ban public carry altogether" The ruling creates tension with the Second Circuit's 2025 Frey v. City of New York decision, which upheld New York's open-carry ban because concealed carry remained available. What's next: California Attorney General Rob Bonta says his office is "considering its options." The case could go to the full Ninth Circuit en banc or create enough of a circuit split for Supreme Court review. For now, open carry remains illegal while enforcement continues. The court directed the lower court to enter judgment for Baird on the urban ban specifically, but didn't reach the rural licensing scheme due to procedural issues. The decision emphasized that California's legislature—not courts—must decide how to craft any replacement permitting system for urban counties. The bottom line: California can no longer categorically refuse open-carry permits in its major population centers, but the practical impact depends on how local sheriffs and police chiefs respond to permit applications. Go deeper: Full Ninth Circuit decision analysis CNN coverage of the ruling Contra Costa News report Read the original article in The Handbook | By Steve Duskett Join the Discussion With this ruling potentially opening up open carry in most of California, are you more likely to open carry or stick with concealed carry if you're in one of those affected counties—and what's driving that choice for you?