After nearly 11 months, concealed carry reciprocity has moved out of the House Judiciary Committee. (Dave Workman)
By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Concealed carry activists were quick to react positively, but the gun prohibition lobby was girding for a prolonged battle following the passage of HR 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill out of the House Judiciary Committee on a 19-11 party line vote.
According to the Canada Free Press, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has urged its members to contact Congress. There are already 213 co-sponsors for the bill.
The National Rifle Association has been encouraging its members to keep up the pressure. American gun owners have become frustrated and impatient while the bill languished in the House Committee for the past 11 months.
In an email blast following the Judiciary Committee vote, Rob Wilcox with anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety declared, “If passed, the law would force each state to accept the concealed carry standards of every other state, even states that have weak standards, or worse, no standards at all. This would allow dangerous individuals — including people with dangerous histories and many domestic abusers — to carry a loaded, hidden handgun across the country, putting the safety of our families and communities at risk.”
But Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte had issued a statement to refute such rhetoric.
“I want people to remember that this bill will not arm criminals,” he said. “If someone is a criminal who is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm, nothing in this bill would allow that person to purchase or possess a firearm, let alone carry one in a concealed fashion. That is currently illegal and will remain illegal under this bill.
“I strongly believe the way to combat gun violence is not to infringe the rights of law-abiding citizens,” he continued, “but to enforce the laws against criminals. This bill is about the simple proposition that law abiding Americans should be able to exercise their right to self-defense even when they cross out of their state’s borders. That is their Constitutional right.”
Approval in the Judiciary Committee was just the first hurdle for this long-awaited legislation. It would still have a long way to go before hitting President Donald Trump’s desk, and he had indicated he would sign such legislation while he was on the campaign trail in 2016.
That brought lots of gun owners to the polls, resulting in Republican control of Congress and the White House. And those gun owners have been growing impatient and frustrated that it took nearly 11 months for Congress to begin moving the bill that was introduced on Jan. 3, 2017. Sponsored by Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC), the bill had been languishing for months.
But finally Capitol Hill seemed to get the message from gun rights activists that Republicans needed to deliver on their promises.
Under the bill, states would be required to honor concealed carry permits and licenses from other states, same as they honor driver’s licenses. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) noted during the Judiciary markup discussion more than once that this legislation deals with protection of a civil right.
The discussion clearly split Democrats from Republicans. Gun rights groups applauded passage of the bill, which has 213 co-sponsors. All but three of those sponsors are Republicans.
With the bill, HR38, headed to the House floor for consideration, Democrats and even one New York Republican – Rep. Peter King – lined up against expansion of concealed carry rights across state lines. As Newsday reported, King sided with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas and NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker in opposition. They argued that New York’s stringent gun control laws have “changed the culture and the awareness about bringing guns in New York City.”
That may be true for law-abiding citizens ensnared by the restrictive state and city gun laws, but criminals still seem able to obtain guns through illegal means in the Empire State. Democrats contend that HR 38 will “endanger public safety by overriding states with strict gun laws,” according to CBS News.
But Goodlatte ripped Democrats for misrepresenting the bill.
“Nothing in this bill would allow (a convicted criminal) to purchase or possess a firearm, let alone carry one in a concealed fashion,” he said.
