For 191 straight days, both parties' leaders have blocked the biggest pro-gun bill ever -- the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.
When the New Congress began this past January, one of the first bills introduced in Congress was the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.
The bill truly is common sense. If you have a lawful concealed carry permit issued by a state, or live in a state that allows you to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, you would have reciprocity in all 50 states.
Right now, only police officers can exercise their right to keep and bear arms in every state in the country. Average citizens cannot. The best that any of us can do is get around 38 or 39 states of reciprocity, and even that requires someone to hold multiple different carry permits.
Can you imagine what life would be like if we treated driver's licenses this way? Imagine having to plan your trip across country and avoiding driving through certain states because they don't honor your license. Imagine having to go to the DMV in different states and take a driver's test each time you want to travel through. Imagine going somewhere like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois and learning that no matter what you do, your out-of-state license will never be honored.
That is the reality that gun owners face every single day in this country. There are at least 17 million concealed carry permit holders in this country. They are trained to carry concealed weapons for self defense. And even though the Constitution says that they have a right to bear (carry) arms, it is impossible for them to carry in all fifty states...
The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would solve all of this. It would force states to honor out-of-state carry permits the way they honor driver's licenses. And just like a driver is required to know the traffic laws of states he or she travels through, a concealed carrier would also be responsible for knowing different states' self-defense laws.
This is truly common sense. Except in Congress, both Democrats and Republicans are trying to kill this bill!
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced this bill (S. 69) back on January 9, 2019. It was read twice on the Senate floor, referred to the Judiciary Committee, and has sat there collecting dust for the past 191 days. Rep. Richard Hudson introduced the House version (H.R. 38) on January 3, 2019, and dozens of Republicans have refused to sign onto it (even though they supported the bill last year).
For almost 6 and a half months, the Republican and Democrat leadership have blocked these bills from even getting a committee hearing. They are terrified of passing this bill.
Democrat Leaders know that if they hold the hearing, moderate Democrats representing Pro-Trump districts will likely vote for it. Republicans, on the other hand, say that this bill would violate states' rights.
That's hogwash. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states 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..." Congress ratified this amendment in 1868 to make sure that states couldn't hide behind "states' rights" as an excuse to violate citizens' God-given rights.
But most importantly, Section 5 of the amendment states that "Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
Americans are having their rights violated and the only way to stop this is for Congress to act. California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and the District of Columbia all refuse to honor out-of-state carry permits or issue non-resident permits to visitors. Most of these states are also what is called "may-issue," meaning that they reject almost all concealed carry applications from their own residents.
Unless you are a well connected politician, donor, or judge, it is next to impossible to exercise your right to carry in these states. They have determined that the 2nd Amendment will simply not apply within their borders. Democrats want to protect these gun control laws at all costs. Republicans say they want to restore Americans' carry rights, but hide behind "states' rights" to let these laws stay on the books.
Just two days ago, a North Carolina grandmother was arrested in New York for illegal possession of a firearm. The gun wasn't hers and was in the bag when she borrowed it from a family member. If she had been in North Carolina, she would have been fine. You don't need a permit to own a gun in North Carolina. But since New York doesn't honor any of North Carolina's gun laws, she unknowingly committed a felony...
This is simply absurd. This grandmother is now facing felony weapons charges for illegally carrying a concealed weapon. Is this the country that we want to live in?
Enough is enough. Republicans and Democrats have gotten away with blocking this bill for 191 straight days.
That ends today!
Sincerely,
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
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