Rep. Thomas Massie may be the most staunch defender of the Second Amendment in the halls of Congress. If he’s not, he’s got to be near the top of the list.

Through his time in Congress, he’s also been rather notorious for doing something politicians generally don’t do. He stands on his principles, calling out his own party when he disagrees with them. Even if you don’t agree with him, you should still respect him for that alone.

But he’s also pro-gun.

Recently, he sat down with David Codrea at Firearms News to talk about permitless carry reciprocity.

FN: Surely, you’re aware that legislative monitoring website GovTrack.us gives the “Prognosis” that there’s a “1% chance of being enacted.”

There is growing jaded gun owner sentiment that politicians on both sides introduce bills they know have no chance of passing for political points. Your own experience, as you related to Armed American Radio host Mark Walters in 2017, when you informed him that then-speaker Paul Ryan said the timing wasn’t right for the D.C. Personal Protection Reciprocity Act, shows that when in power, the GOP leadership finds a way to avoid giving the words they use to get elected any real meaning.

Why introduce your bill now instead of after the November elections, and if the GOP succeeds in holding on to the House and winning back the Senate and the White House, what prognosis do you give for this bill, a hearing protection (suppressor) bill, and other pre-election promises being passed and enacted?

TM: “The time to stand up for our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is always: Now. Constitutional Carry is recognized by 29 states, and it is important to keep building on this momentum. If we win the House, the Senate, and the White House we will have a running start on getting this legislation enacted next year.”

It should be noted that Massie isn’t exactly Donald Trump’s favorite member of Congress, but his district in Kentucky seems to like him plenty, so he’ll be there for quite some time despite the hysterical anti-gunners’ best efforts.

But is permitless carry reciprocity something that can or should happen?

As to whether it can, I’m not holding my breath. As Codrea notes above, Republicans also have a tendency to not want to rock the boat on guns. We could have concealed carry reciprocity right here and now except Paul Ryan figured the timing wasn’t absolutely perfect. I don’t see how it could have been better, especially in hindsight. Not long after that was Las Vegas, then Parkland, and there hasn’t been a better moment to pass any such law.

Should it happen? Absolutely.

No one should be forced to get a permit just to exercise a basic right. They shouldn’t even have to get one from their own state just to travel to another. They don’t need a free-speech permit or a permit to practice their religion, so why should they have to get one to practice their right to keep and bear arms.

The question is, should Republicans win the whole shebang in November, will they take advantage of that running start? I’m just not hopeful. Not on this.

I fear our most realistic hope is that they’ll just hold the line, which is better than the alternative if the GOP loses everything.