Several months ago I wrote about the future of concealed carry in the US, prompted by Kansas becoming the 6th state to allow (as of July 15, 2015) permitless carry. I wondered whether we were entering into a 4th stage in the development of concealed weapons laws centered on the expansion of permitless carry.

And now, as of October 15, 2015, Maine becomes the 7th state to allow permitless carry. Which is significant, but we should also bear in mind that the seven permitless carry states are not exactly what we would call “populous.” This is evident in a very useful data visualization put together by Rob Vance and John Richardson. (I wrote about a previous version of this data visualization here.) As they note, “Every Picture Tells a Story.”

This graphic shows the core of the ongoing liberalization of gun carry in the United States is “shall issue,” coming at the expense of may issue and no issue. But the blue in this chart representing “unrestricted” (permitless) carry is becoming more than just a barely visible sliver. And that is worth noting and watching. Stay tuned for Vance and Richardson’s “Every Picture Tells a Story, Part Four.”