House passes concealed carry reciprocity bill

By Ian Snively | The Daily Signal

The House passed legislation Wednesday that will allow people with a concealed carry permit to also bring their guns across state lines in states that permit concealed carry.

“Today, the House took action to protect our citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in a statement. “The truth is that concealed carry laws save lives. Right now, current law creates confusion for people who cross state borders with a lawful concealed carry permit. The legislation passed by the House today ensures that people who carry their legal firearm across state borders are protected under the law.”

“My bill is a simple, common sense solution to the confusing hodgepodge of concealed carry reciprocity agreements between states,” said Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., the sponsor of the bill, in a statement last week. “It will affirm that law-abiding citizens who are qualified to carry concealed in one state can also carry in other states that allow residents to do so.

The final vote was 231-198, largely along party lines. Fourteen Republicans voted against the bill, which included a measure to strengthen background checks, and six Democrats voted for the bill.

On Nov. 29, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. According to the Congressional Research Service, “This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows individuals to carry concealed firearms.”

This bill was passed through the House committee along with the Fix NICS Act, which will aim to provide more accurate data collection under the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

“I know we can’t stop this bill,” Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., said. “I know this is going to pass, there is no question about it, and we will add that to this litany of things about what you’re doing to the tax bill and now we’re all going to shoot each other.”

“This is not the Congress I’ve known and loved so many years but it’s the one we got,” Slaughter added.

Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association was grateful for the progress the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act has made.

“Concealed carry reciprocity is the NRA’s highest legislative priority in Congress,” wrote the NRA in a press release on Nov. 27. “It would ensure that states recognize the concealed carry credentials of other states. This would end abuses in anti-gun states like New York and New Jersey and allow law-abiding concealed carriers to exercise their rights nationwide with peace of mind.”

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Public domain

7 thoughts on “House passes concealed carry reciprocity bill

  1. “House passes concealed carry reciprocity bill” , a great first step . Now lets see if our Senators
    have the same mind set to protect it’s citizens .

    I’ll bet Leahy & Sanders both vote against any reciprocity bill as they don’t want to offend there
    pals from California ( Feinstein ) & New York ( Schumer ) , they are protected 24/7 …………

    I travel all across the US and I am allowed to own a firearm. I want to be able to protect my self
    any time any where in the my travels through out the United States Of America !!!!!!!!

    • Of course Leahy/Sanders will vote against it as a complete ban of firearms is a tenant of Liberalism,Regressivism/Commiecratism .

  2. Very simply put, a constitutional right to self protection should not be able to be nullified by any state—and no one should be required to produce any sham piece of paper to secure that right—the constitution already does so.

    • I’d like to hear why you believe it’s unconstitutional. Should some states be allowed to continue to ignore the inconvenient Second Amendment and infringe on a citizen’s ability to ‘keep and bear arms’ merely because they don’t like it?

      • My thought is it would be Constitutional on 5 th. 10 th. and 14 th. amendment grounds,however as many years as I have studied our US Constitution I am not a Constitutional scholar.

  3. Enforcing Constitutional carry in the remaining 38 states with out it would negate the need for any bills of the type and the Constitution is already on the books.

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