In the United States of America, for a may-issue gun law, authorities (usually the local police) have broad discretion as whether to issue a concealed carry (often a background check and safety class) permit to a given individual. Some may-issue states are, for all practical purposes, no-issue. Other may-issue states have policies that vary radically from one political subdivision to another.
This category may also be interpreted to include states where authorities have very limited discretion in permit issuance. Two states, Alabama and Connecticut, fall into this latter category. Gun rights activists are divided as to whether these states are "may-issue" or "shall-issue".
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