National Concealed Carry Law possible?
It appears that Senator Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) proclivity towards introducing conservative amendments to unrelated bills may be catching on.
According to OpenCongress.com, gay rights groups like the Log Cabin Republicans have been trying to buy Senate Republican support for the Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes Act by floating the idea of tacking on the National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Act to the bill.
From the Washington Independent:
One month after successfully tucking an amendment into the credit card reform bill that expanded gun rights, a small number of Senate Republicans are looking at the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as another chance to score a victory for the Second Amendment. The possible plan — to add an amendment that would allow gun owners to carry their weapons from one state to another in accordance with concealed carry laws. The possible rationale — to defend gay rights.
“It makes sense for a group of people who would be protected by hate crime legislation to support something that would let them defend themselves before or after the crime,” said one Republican Senate aid familiar with the discussions. “It’s relevant, and we want to work together with gay groups to get the message out.”
While the aide described the discussions over a gun rights amendment to the hate crimes bill as “very fluid,” conservative and pro-gun rights gay groups outside of the Senate are ready to make a real push for it. GOProud, a new gay rights group that broke away from the Log Cabin Republicans in April, has talked with top staffers for Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) about how to make the civil rights case for conceal and carry reciprocity.
“We support this because we think it’s advantageous to make it legal and relatively easy for gay people to arm themselves so they can protect themselves,” said Jimmy LaSilva, who became the executive director of GOProud after three years working on policy for the Log Cabin Republicans. “In the next few weeks we want to start highlighting some of those stories. There are people who have averted gay bashings because of their ability to use guns.”
The argument goes that protecting gays from hate crimes begins with their own ability to defend themselves. This strategy could have some very real — and negative — consequences for gun owners. If the federal government sets the standard for when and where to carry a gun, then state laws governing the issuance of permits will be next on the chopping block.
I can see a liberal appellate court legislating from the bench and requiring that all states comply with a Federally mandated standard for issuing a permit. Such a Federal mandate would no doubt include an excessive and draconian waiting period, expensive and impractical training requirements, and exorbitant fees. Federal overreaching of this type could effectively neuter all current state CCW laws.
Additionally, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 does nothing for residents of states that don’t already issue permits. It’s great that I, as a Colorado resident, could carry in Massachusetts under this law, but a Massachusetts resident could not carry here in Colorado, because Massachusetts permits are virtually impossible to get.
Vermont, for all its liberal tenancies, continues to have the best concealed weapon law in the country. In Vermont, if you are legally allowed to own a gun, then you have the right to carry that weapon concealed without “Government permission.”
Any national attempts to reform the concealed carry law should be geared toward a national Vermont-style or Alaska-style law, which is based on true freedom.
In California the Sherriff in each county makes the determination if he (the Sherriff) will issue CCW. I am a regular Joe living in California and I have had a CCW for over 21 years. Why would I won’t the Fed handling CCW. It would be easier electing a new Sherriff that will issue CCW in your county in California than trying to deal with some Fed in DC making the laws for CCW in California.
I am appalled at the amount of gun violence on the streets of our country. But, our forefathers had GREAT insight when they drafted this nations constitution. The 2nd. amendment was designed for the average citizens protection. Regarding ccw permits, my strongest argument comes from a recent news article sent to me. At a college party 3 intruders broke into the party, separated the men & women(with intentions of raping the women), robbed them, and then began speaking to each other & questioning if they had enough ammo for this group. It is obvious what their intentions were. Fortunately, one of the male students got to his back back, and a licenced Glock he had there. He wounded one of the intruders, fatally shot the other 2, saving the lives of the 20 students. If the feds get into regulating ccw, i have no doubt, this student would have been unarmed & we’d be reading about another tragedy. Once you let the feds make decisions for you, you give up your civil & constitutional rights, which our forefathers & others fought & gave their lives for.
vote no don’t want the feds to have any say in our right to carry concealed or not concealed the constitution gives us that right and it shall not be infringed on
We Don’t need the Feds.running everything. Thay are takeing all of the rights we have.The people we put in office and the ones we tryed to keep out!will one by one take all the rights other countrys want and we fight for if we let them.Its time to tell the Feds to stay out of a states bussness.When the Feds. fier The C.E.O. of a corparation thay have gone to far. Leave the guns alone and stay out of my home unless you are invited!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im going to protect it.
Jim
This is a bad idea! I carried in Michigan for three decades prior to legal CCW legislation. It was my right under the Constitution. If I was jailed for exercising that right, I’d have proudly served my time.
Any CCW permit, is a concession to government that our right is now a privilege. The only national law I’d support would be based on the Vermont standard that open or concealed carry for non criminal purposes is allowed.
On getting my CCW (CPL) in Michigan, I had to register any weapons I wished to carry. Registration is a precursor to confiscation.
Again, this is a bad idea.
Elected officials at the Fed level, who want to fulfill their oath of office, should be performing two very simple things, protect us from enemies, foreign/domestic, and enforcing contracts…PERIOD. Those who have taken on the ‘color of domestic enemy’ by ‘infringing’ on the rights/laws of the Constitution should be ferreted into the open and dealt with in the voting booth. They are easy to spot on both sides of the isle.
I have been a CCW holder for the past 10 years. In some states, there is an “Open Carry” law where you can carry the weapon as long as it is exposed but if it gets a T-shirt over it, you have better be a holder of a CCW Permit. This was the same in Montana when I was there. Pack your six-guns on your hip and all was right with the World. Let it get covered and you MAY have a problem..maybe not..depending on the County Sheriff.
I truely hate to hear anything that has to do with THIS administration and Gun Laws. The “New Kids” have no experience in anything that requires thought ( 160 days in a “Sold Seat” in Illinois does not a President make ) He has gone back on his word with everything he promised so far, so why would he uphold our gun rights as he stated time and time again? This bill needs to be stopped. This country has gone to the dogs and it took 8 years of one Dem to get the ball dropping, handing China secrets to gain $upport for his wife’s campaign and all the further attacks on Gun Control. My Ideas are that Gun Control means HITTING what you are SHOOTING AT and control of weapons by the Owner not the Government. Remember as once said by Elder statesmen of yesteryear, when the Government was OURS…”FEAR the Government that FEARS your GUN !”
The power opf the pen is mighty, people, so WRITE and WRITE some more to YOUR Congressional representatives. You are paying them, they get a raise every year no matter HOW many are out of work in the REAL WORLD, so USE THEM TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THAT YOU CAN! Stop Bills like this one from passing any further ! IF this one gets through, the PEOPLE of the USA are headed down a slope that will only be stopped when we are not gun owners anymore..that is a Government Controlled State…Not one of “We the People”.
Buy ammo as it will be the first thing to go..supply is already getting low, thanks to Oil.
I did not even read the whole article, but here we go again! We are from the Gov. and were here to help. Yeh ! Right! The more power we give the Feds, the less of States Rights will exist and eventually there will be no States Rights at all! Just another power grab. By the way, That $250.00 Obama gave me in extra SS! I bought a Gun.
You think they might come a knocking?
I don’t have a CCW but I believe in the 2nd amendment and very much understand why it was put into the bill of rights. I also believe that any crime against another individual is a hate crime and that there is a much more sinister agenda going on here. I believe that we are making a deal with the devil and I do believe that the devil is alive and well not only in the white house but in the rest of our government. We need someone who will take on the law suites by private individual and grand juries who have sat and indicted this treasonous man in the white house. If any of you have an idea who that judge might be, now is a good time to bring the name forward. JC
A national CCW is a mistake. I live in NYC and you wouldn’t believe the hurdles I had to jump through for a premise/target handgun license. $700. dollars, 6 months waiting and 5 trips to the building you see in the opening of Law and Order and that’s not counting the cost of the weapon. Yes I have purchased another weapon but once you reach the magic number of four you must purchase a safe and prove it with a receipt and a photo. Here’s some trivia for you. The FDNY has a law that you can only have on hand in you house 400 rounds of ammo. My license list both calibers so I can only purchase those caliber nothing else. So if I don’t own a .357 I better not have that caliber bullet in my house. Quite a little minefield here in NYC. A carry permit (I have actually seen one) is extremely difficult to get. I ask you which way do you think the liberal gungrabbers would write the law like it exists in a shall issue state or where I live? A state by state permit with reciprocity is a much better idea and would not lead to confiscation. It would strengthen States Rights more too.
Well. I live in NY and have a NY permit (not good in NYC), and I believe that the the CCW permits should be like the driver licenses. Each state issues their own premit, and they’re accepted in every other state. That would make it easy AND safe in that the Fed would have nothing to do with it other than mandating that each states license be accepted in every other state. That would work!
As for the gay issue……. give it a rest, They’re entitled to a CCW just like everyone else, and the more honest law abiding citizens with CCW’s, the stronger our vote! I’m not gay, I’m hapilly married (oxymoron?) but have gay friends and gay relatives, and have never been ‘hit on’ by any of them. It’s 2009, get with the program, and welcome those with like interests!
United we stand, devided we fall!
Andy
This is a good amendment. All it does is say a state must recognize another states issued license. What’s wrong with that? I beginning to think you guys are from the Brady bunch.
Two years ago, I was out for a day of turkey hunting, when an officer pulled me over for an expired tag. I was driving a borrowed vehicle as I had just been hit head on at 70mph by a driver who suffered a seizure. The officer, seeing a small container of .22 ammo in the back seat ordered me out of the vehicle and then found an .25 cal automatic and I did not have a ccw permit (Ibelieved and still do that a ccw is an infringement) Even though state law allows for the transport of a weapon for target practice or hunting purposes, I was charged with and jailed for unlawful possession. The local judge found me guilty (imagine that) and fined me $500, the maximum allowed by law. I appealed, and planned to use the 2nd amendment as my defense. The judge ruled the 2nd “irrelevant” in his court, I was found guilty, fined $1000 (more than allowed by law), and sentenced to six months in jail for as the prosecutor stated “wasting the court’s time on an appeal”. No prior cconvictions of any kind, never in trouble with the law, and got hit with the max for daring to defend my rights. The judge told me that I would not have received so harsh a sentence if I had played by the rules and paid an attorney to defend me. Our courts and the law are not about what is right or wrong, but about keeping the system operating by playing by their rules. I still do not have a ccw permit and would take the same course again, even if it meant more jail time. Our founding fathers pledged their lives (some died in the struggle) their fortunes (some lost everything), and their sacred honor in the struggle to set the basis for our Constitution. We must stand up for uninfringed rights to keep and bear.
When I first heard about this legislation I was under the impression that it only pertained to requiring a ccw to be honored in other states, much like drivers licenses. I was not aware that it allowed for any control over ccw’s by the feds. I think reciprocity is a good and sensible thing but I also agree that we do not want the feds involved in any way with the issuing or the standards for issue of a ccw.
Cool site, love the info.
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I don’t care how many laws are past the fact the only law their is and its called the constitution and the bill of rights meaning the 2nd if you read the declaration then you would agree that when a government dose what our government is doing then again you’ll agree it time to send them a pink slip You Are Fired put that in your book.
When a people fear the government this is called tyrants and should hold them as tyrants aganist the United States and put them in jail that’s what the declaration say for We the people to do.
And when the government fears the people this is called Liberty.
I’m getting sick of this government and doing my part to tell every one to march on and send these nuts a warring that we the people only hired them to defend the constitution and do their job within the constitution and nothing more, congress and the president do not have the right to tell its employer what to do we the employer tell them their job and it was laid out in the guidelines of the constitution and on top of it all people think the government owes them a paycheck, no no welfare has done more harm to our country then any other!.
It was not to raise 3 generations and they have more then people who need no hand outs.
Gun Rights Are our freedom to protect our self even a government who is only trying to rule the people of this land, read the declaration it will show you what we must do.
I think every American should be able to protect themselves , and they should have the right to carry a concealed weapon if they want to or not.
I am sure there would of been tragedies prevented if some one could of been carrying a concealed weapon , and some people could still be alive if they had had the right to carry concealed.
I live in a rural community and the law enforcement is joke , I have myself to protect my family and the things I own. We the People I think it says in the Constitution. Not we the rich, we the politicians , or we select few have the right to protect ourselves. The last time I checked I was an American , and Marine Corps Veteran , I should have the right to carry a weapon if I want too.
I hope the guy in Louisiana gets his situation resolved pronto , if the future I feel sorry for our nation . Also to guy in Louisiana, thanks for your family sacrifices on the field of battle where ever they were.
I hope concealed carry gets passed we might see a big drop in the crime rate, one thing if you pull your weapon be ready to use it if you have too.
Well take care all and God Bless, and let the keep the three G’s of America, God, Guns, and Gut!!!!!
“Gun Control” means Using both hands, and know your target, b 4 firing
[...] has successfully fought off an attack by pirates off the Seychelles yesterday. The company hasNAGR Gun Rights Blog National Concealed Carry Law possible?and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) about how to make the civil rights case for conceal and … E.B. Gollan [...]
No Constitution can be self enforcing. Government officials must respect their oaths to uphold the Constitution; and we the people must be vigilant in seeing that they do. It is up to us, to each generation, to preserve and protect it for ourselves and future generations. For the Constitution will live only if its alive in the hearts and minds of the American people. That, perhaps, is the most enduring lesson of our experiment in ordered liberty.
This article was published by the Cato Institute.
We should all remember it.
M. Oechsler
The only reason the Federal Agencies have so much power and authority is because We the citizens of this nation have “fallen asleep at the wheel” so to speak, and given this power and authority over our lives to them.It is our duty and responsibility as citizens of this nation to band together to protect and defend each other from Federal Government intrusion into our lives. When Federal agents come break into a citizens home to arrest a citizen (many times without a warrant) neighbors should come to the citizens aid and prevent the arrests. No citizen should be defenseless and helpless against the army of Federal agents. If all of the citizens neighbors came to his/her aid and prevented the arrests, the Federal agents would be helpless against a standing army of armed citizens. Hundreds of concerned neighbors should be activly getting involved in their neighbors lives especially if it is against Federal Agents.