Illinois used to ban concealed carry. Unless you were a police officer or licensed security guard, it was illegal for citizens to carry weapons in public for self-defense. However, the 7th Circuit ruled in the 2013 Moore v. Madigan case that this carry ban was unconstitutional. Since then, law-abiding Illinois residents have been allowed to carry concealed firearms for self-defense.
And just this week, another innocent life was saved. A 25-year-old woman was sitting at a Chicago bus stop at 5:45 am on Tuesday morning. She was just trying to get to work. All of a sudden, an armed man appeared and tried to rob her at gunpoint.
Had this happened a few years ago, then the woman would have been powerless to defend herself. But thanks to Moore v. Madigan, this young woman had a concealed carry permit. After realizing she was being robbed, she drew her concealed pistol, turned around, and shot and killed the armed robber.
This woman is alive today because she was allowed to defend herself in public. But to this day, tens of millions of Americans are being denied this basic right. Anti-gun states are prohibiting residents from carrying and refusing to honor visitors' out-of-state permits.
The 2nd Amendment promises that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, but a quarter of all Americans are being denied this fundamental right.
There is a bill in Congress that would fix this for good: the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act
The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act is extremely simple: if you are licensed or permitted to carry a concealed firearm in one state, then that license/permit must be honored by every state.
To this day, it is impossible for a civilian to legally carry a firearm in all 50 states. The most that any law-abiding civilian can get is around 38 states of reciprocity, but they would need concealed carry permits from at least three different states to do it.
But tens of millions of Americans don't have this luxury. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, California, Hawaii, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware all have laws on the books that allow judges and police to deny law-abiding carry applicants. It doesn't matter how qualified someone is. The state can deny their application for any reason. This is called a "may-issue" carry law.
A quarter of all Americans live in these anti-gun states. Not surprisingly, these blue states also refuse to honor permits from other states as well. Tens of millions of Americans' civil rights are being violated every single day.
Luckily, the Constitution planned for this. The 14th Amendment was ratified to make sure that freed slaves were afforded citizenship after the Civil War. But the amendment actually goes further than that, promising that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."
If states do try to violate their residents' constitutional rights, then the amendment says it is Congress' responsibility to pass legislation to protect these rights.
And that is exactly what Republicans are trying to do right now!
For every uplifting story of a concealed carrier defending themselves, there are more cases of law-abiding Americans being victimized because they are not allowed to defend themselves in public.
The GOP leadership is trying to compromise with moderate Democrats to get this life-saving bill through. The compromise is that residents would need to be permitted in their home states to get nationwide reciprocity.
If passed, a Texan would be allowed to carry in California, but California's 'may-issue' laws blocking their own residents from carrying would be allowed to stay in place. This legislation purely deals with reciprocity.
The argument is that when forced to let non-residents carry, states will face even more pressure to allow their own residents to do the same. If a Pennsylvanian can carry in New Jersey, then it doesn't make sense to stop New Jersey residents from carrying too.
We had a much better piece of legislation last year. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would have granted reciprocity to any carry permit holder, even if he or she got the permit from a state they didn't live in.
Paul Ryan had the votes to push this bill through last year and could have forced the Senate to consider it. Instead, he abandoned conservatives and struck a budget deal with the Left, pushing through new gun control amendments instead. Rep. Richard Hudson has reintroduced his House version this year -- H.Res 38). But if we're going to make progress, it is going to have to start in the Senate.
In 2013, Sen. Cornyn was able to get 13 Democrats to support this common-sense bill. With today's balance of power, we only need seven Democrats.
This bill isn't perfect, but it would save lives. And Cornyn has received the green light from McConnell to move it forward.
But it is going to be up to you to hold Congress' feet to the fire and force the vote!
A right delayed is a right denied. Don't let the GOP stall any more!
Max McGuire
Advocacy Director
Conservative Daily
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