During the National Rifle Association's annual meeting this past April, Mitch McConnell made a promise: The Senate would vote on the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act before the midterm elections.
As you know, this legislation would require that all fifty states start treating concealed carry permits the same way they treat driver's licenses: if you are licensed in one state, then it is good in all states.
McConnell gave Conservatives his word. Since there are 10 Senate Democrats up for re-election in pro-gun states that Trump won, it makes perfect sense.
No one in their right mind would vote against the 2nd Amendment and still expect to win a statewide election in states like North Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, Indiana, or Missouri. McConnell promised that he would force these vulnerable Democrats to go on record. Either they put the biggest pro-gun bill in American history onto President Trump's desk, or they go on the record that they are against the right to bear arms. It was a win-win.
That was back in April. Today, with less than 5 weeks until the the midterm election, this crucial legislation is still collecting dust in Congress. The GOP is going back on its promise.
Do not let them get away with this!
I live in Colorado and I have a Colorado-issued concealed handgun permit. That gives me the right to carry a firearm for self-defense in Colorado and 34 other states.
This week, I am traveling to Nevada. Even though I have the right to carry a firearm in 35 states, Nevada doesn't have a reciprocity agreement with Colorado. But I also have a non-resident permit from Utah. That permit is honored by Nevada. So in order to carry a gun even in a pro-gun state like Nevada, I need two concealed carry permits.
Imagine needing a driver's license from two or more states in order to drive across the country. It would be laughable.
But even if someone got a dozen concealed carry permits from all of the states that offer them to non-residents, it would still be impossible to carry a firearm in all fifty states.
There are 11 states that refuse to honor ANY out-of-state carry permits -- Oregon, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, as well as the District of Columbia. Most of them refuse to even issue carry permits to their own residents. More than 30% of all Americans live in these anti-gun states.
The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would change all of that. If you are licensed or permitted to carry a firearm in a state, you would be allowed to carry a gun in every state. It even applies to states that have passed permitless or constitutional carry!
But it would do even more than that. Tens of millions of Americans live in states that flat-out refuse to issue carry permits to average residents. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would tear down more than a century of state-level carry bans and allow residents in these anti-gun states to use a non-resident permit from Utah, Florida, or New Hampshire to carry nationwide... including in their home state!
So we're clear: if you are a law abiding citizen in a state like California or New Jersey, you would finally have a pathway to concealed carry.
This is the biggest civil rights legislation to come before Congress in a generation. It is a chance to restore the 2nd Amendment to its original intent and protect the right to bear arms for generations to come.
But the GOP is literally going back on their promise and refusing to put it to a vote!
It's not just the Senate. The House technically would have to re-pass the bill as well.
When the House passed the legislation in 2017, Paul Ryan demanded that it be attached to a major gun control provision, known as Fix NICS. Ryan said this was necessary to get "moderate" Republicans on board.
The bill ultimately passed and went to the Senate to collect dust. When it came time to pass the budget this year, we demanded that Ryan include the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act in order to get it onto Trump's desk.
Except Ryan didn't do that. He took the gun control measure and added it to the budget, but left the Concealed Carry portion on the cutting room floor. He demanded that we compromise, but when it really mattered, he stabbed us all in the back.
So, in order for this to now reach Pres. Trump's desk, it must pass through both chambers of Congress.
The GOP isn't interested. It's not a priority. They are going to let all of these Democrats and moderate Republicans stand for re-election without having to go on the record on the 2nd Amendment. It's absolutely shameful.
The Republican leadership doesn't want to schedule a vote because they think they can get away with it. They think they can stab conservatives and gun owners in the back without consequence.
They made this promise during the primary season to convince conservatives to support their agenda. Once they got what they wanted, they completely dropped the issue.
Republicans love to trot out the pro-gun and pro-2nd Amendment talking points around election time. But the fact of the matter is that in the last 19 months, the GOP has not sent a single bill to President Trump's desk to expand our gun rights. Not one.
That must change!
The GOP have stalled for 82 weeks. That is how long this legislation has been sitting on the Leadership's desks.
They think they can stall for another five weeks and trick people into voting for them anyway.
You MUST prove them wrong!
Sincerely,
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
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