With Maine, ten states no longer require concealed handgun permits in all or virtually all of the state

Last Wednesday, Maine Gov. Paul LePage signed into law a bill to eliminate the concealed gun permit requirement in Maine.  Permit requirements also ended in Kansas and Mississippi on July 1st.  That raises the total of states that don’t require permits anywhere in the state to eight (also including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Wyoming, and Vermont).  In two states, Idaho and Montana, you only need a permit within city limits.  In Montana, that means you don’t need a permit in 99.4% of the state.

. . . The law eliminates the concealed carry requirement for legal gun owners who are age 21 or older, and for all military servicemen or servicewomen over 18 years old. Nonmilitary people between the ages of 18 and 21 must still obtain a permit, which requires a background check and firearm safety training.

The law also creates a requirement that anyone carrying a concealed gun without a permit disclose that fact if they are stopped by police or other law enforcement officers.

People can still obtain permits in Maine for the purpose of carrying concealed guns in other states that recognize permits issued here. . . .

This reduces the fee to carry in Maine from $35 to zero.  The training requirement would also be eliminated.  People could still get permits to obtain reciprocity with other states.