Fellow Conservative,
With Paul Ryan taking control of the House of Representatives, a major block has been removed from the legislative process. One of the reasons we opposed John Boehner so fervently was the fact that he would block legislation he disliked, even if it had majority support.
Paul Ryan has promised to change that.
So, now is the time to put that promise to the test. I ask whether the 2nd Amendment even applies anymore because there isn't a single Congressman or Senator talking about the clear Constitutional violations happening every day across this country. But we cannot allow anyone to push this issue to the backburner. Now is the time to push for nationwide concealed carry reciprocity!
I want to tell you a story about what happened this weekend in Chicago. Reginald Gildersleeve spent 35 years in prison on 10 felonies. Over the weekend, while out on bond for another charge, Mr. Gildersleeve walked into a convenience store. He pulled out a handgun and announced that he was robbing the place.
Had this happened last year, the employees and shoppers would have been powerless to stop this because concealed carry was illegal in Illinois. Innocent people would have been shot.
But while Mr. Gildersleeve was waving a gun around demanding money, a licensed concealed carrier was able to draw his weapon to shoot and kill the assailant.
The shooter was completely within his rights and did everything correctly and legally.
The reason I am bringing this up is because while the 2nd Amendment protects the right to bear (aka carry) arms, and most states allow concealed carry, our nation’s patchwork system of gun laws turns otherwise law abiding citizens into felons when they cross the state line.
We covered the story of Shaneen Allen last year. The mother of two, licensed to carry a pistol in Pennsylvania, was unaware that her permit was invalid in New Jersey. After local prosecutors decided to throw the book at her, we sent over 100,000 faxes on her behalf and a year later, Chris Christie finally pardoned her.
I don’t know about you, but I’m done fighting these cases. I’m tired of it. The Second Amendment applies nationwide, not just up to the state line.
There are a half dozen concealed carry bills in Congress that Boehner refused to bring to a vote. It’s time to force Paul Ryan to hold a vote on them!
No more delay! Force Congress to move these common-sense concealed carry reciprocity bills forward!
There’s S.498, The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act that is sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and has an excellent chance of passing with its dozens of co-sponsors. H.R.923 is the House version of the bill.
Then there is H.R.986, The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, has bipartisan support and over 180 co-sponsors. This should have been voted on months ago, but Boehner didn’t like it.
And last but not least, there is H.R.402, The Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015, which is a similar bill and also has 93 co-sponsors.
So you see… John Boehner and Mitch McConnell haven’t just scuttled one bill. They have left a number of bills on the desk collecting dust.
Meanwhile, Americans are being victimized and those who refuse to be a victim are risking arrest for illegally carrying across state lines.
This is unacceptable. But what is even more unacceptable is the fact that we have the power to stop this and yet nothing ever happens!
Enough is enough!
Sincerely,
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
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