Why You Should Obtain The Mississippi Enhanced Permit

The State of Mississippi will issue you a basic (non-enhanced) concealed carry permit without taking any training. However, an enhanced permit does require training to obtain and allows the gun owner to carry in several places where those with basic permits cannot. According the the State Attorney General:

The opinion […] outlines the following places where the Mississippi statutes authorize a person with an enhanced permit to carry regardless of signage posted by a state governmental entity:

  • Any Polling Place
  • Any meeting place of the governing body or any governmental entity
  • Any meeting of the legislature (unless that body has its own rules or regulations)
  • Any school, college or professional athletic event not related to firearms
  • Any elementary or secondary school facility
  • Any junior college, community college, college or university facility
  • Inside the passenger terminal of any airport (outside of any secured area)
  • In a parade or demonstration for which a permit is required

In addition, the enhanced permit also provided the gun owner with enhanced reciprocity as the enhanced permit is recognized in states that do not honor the basic permit.

It is our opinion that regardless if you live in Mississippi where no training is required to get the basic permit, Kentucky where 8 hours is required, or Illinois where 16 hours is required to obtain a concealed carry permit; none of that is sufficient to truly and adequately prepare you for a gunfight.

Now, we also recognize that many people have a background relating to firearms and shooting. Here are some questions to ask yourself. If you can’t answer them all with great confidence in the affirmative you should seek out the next best step in your training:

  1. Are you intimately familiar with laws in Mississippi relating to the use of force? When and where you can legally use a firearm in the defense of yourself or others?
  2. Are you intimately familiar with laws in Mississippi and Federal laws that dictate where you may or may not be able to carry a firearm?
  3. Are you intimately familiar with laws that determine how reciprocity works and what you need to know before traveling across state lines beyond just the question of reciprocity?
  4. Do you know where to research other state’s relevant firearm laws before traveling through those states?
  5. Do you know about the potential criminal and civil consequences of the use of deadly force and how to prepare in advance for those incidents, and how to act in the moment to best ensure a positive outcome in the legal proceedings that will follow?
  6. Have you built strong shooting skills that include a proper grip, sight alignment & acquisition, moving while shooting, use of cover, reloading, different shooting positions, and other fundamentals that are required to get shots on moving targets in a dynamic self-defense incident?

There are many more questions like those above that we could list. The point is that almost nobody can answer all of those with 100% confidence without having received significant formal training. Start or continue your journey today and make it a lifelong journey of shooting.