Kentucky reserves firearm regulation to the state, so a city or county cannot write its own gun rules. A local ordinance, executive order,...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Kentucky reserves firearm regulation to the state, so a city or county cannot write its own gun rules. A local ordinance, executive order, administrative regulation, policy, procedure, or rule that violates the preemption statute is null, void, and unenforceable. A person or organization adversely affected may sue for declaratory and injunctive relief, and the prevailing party is entitled to attorney's fees, costs, and expert witness fees.
The bar reaches every existing or future city, county, urban-county government, charter county, consolidated local government, unified local government, special district, local or regional public or quasi-public agency, board, commission, department, and public corporation, under KRS 65.870(1). It reaches any person acting under the authority of one of those organizations as well, so an official is no freer to regulate than the body that official serves.
No local unit may occupy any part of the field of firearm regulation. Local governments are barred from regulating firearms, ammunition, or their carrying. Carrying is one of the subjects the statute names.
KRS 65.870(1) reserves these subjects, as to firearms, ammunition, components of firearms, components of ammunition, and firearms accessories, to the state:
Any executive or legislative action that violates the statute is null, void, and unenforceable under KRS 65.870(2).
The General Assembly made the same choice for concealed carry licensing. It found that statewide uniform standards are needed for issuing licenses to carry concealed firearms, and it did not delegate to the Department of Kentucky State Police the authority to regulate or restrict the issuing of those licenses beyond what the statute itself provides, under KRS 237.110(19).
The preemption statute carries one carve-out of its own:
The plainest example of such a statute is the government-building authority, which sits outside KRS 65.870. KRS 237.115(2) lets a state, city, county, or urban-county legislative body prohibit or limit the carrying of concealed deadly weapons in the portion of a building it owns, leases, or controls, requires signs posted at the entrance of the restricted area, and forbids any criminal penalty for a violation.
| Provision | What the statute does | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Violating local action | Null, void, and unenforceable | KRS 65.870(2) |
| Cleanup window | Six months after the July 12, 2012 effective date to repeal, rescind, or amend a violating action | KRS 65.870(3) |
| Who may sue | A person or organization adversely affected may file suit for declaratory and injunctive relief | KRS 65.870(4) |
| What a court must order | Declare the offending action null, void, and unenforceable and issue a permanent injunction against its enforcement | KRS 65.870(4) and (5) |
| Fees | Reasonable attorney's fees and costs, plus expert witness fees and expenses, awarded to the prevailing party | KRS 65.870(4) |
| Immunity | Local governments and their agents are exempted from constitutional sovereign immunity to the extent they violate the statute | KRS 65.870(4) |
| Offense by a public servant | A violation of the section by a public servant is a violation of either KRS 522.020 or KRS 522.030, depending on the circumstances of the violation | KRS 65.870(6) |
The CCDW license adds two things that permitless carry alone does not provide.
Not a general one. Cities, counties, and other local units are barred from regulating firearms, ammunition, or their carrying, and the state occupies the entire field of firearm regulation. The narrow thing a city legislative body may still do by ordinance is prohibit or limit the carrying of concealed deadly weapons in the portion of a building it owns, leases, or controls, under KRS 237.115(2).
An ordinance, executive order, administrative regulation, policy, procedure, or rule that violates the preemption statute is null, void, and unenforceable. Local governments were given six months after the July 12, 2012 effective date to repeal, rescind, or amend such an action.
Yes, within limits. A city legislative body may prohibit or limit the carrying of concealed deadly weapons only in the portion of a building it owns, leases, or controls, must post signs at the entrance of that area, and cannot attach a criminal penalty to a violation.
No. A private business may prohibit concealed carry on its premises and must post signs if the premises are open to the public, and violating a posted ban is not a crime but is grounds for denial of entry or removal.
Carrying is one of the reserved subjects, so local units cannot regulate it. Kentucky has no statute that prohibits carrying a firearm openly, so an adult who may lawfully possess a firearm may carry it openly without a license. Open handgun carry is limited to people 18 and older.
A court must award the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees and costs, plus expert witness fees and expenses. The suit itself seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, and a court that finds a violation must issue a permanent injunction against enforcement.
This page covers one part of our Kentucky concealed carry guide.
Read the complete Kentucky guideBrowse local instructors offering state-approved training in your area. Book online, complete your training, and get one step closer to your concealed carry permit.