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Citizen Committee On Passage Of HR 822 By The House

November 17, 2011 by

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms released a statement late yesterday applauding the House for passing HR 822 – the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. As Alan Gottlieb notes, this fight is not about a state’s rights but about an individual’s rights.

CCRKBA LAUDS HOUSE PASSAGE OF NAT’L CONCEALED CARRY MEASURE
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms lauded today’s 272-154 majority vote by the House of Representatives on passage of H.R. 822, the National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.

“We’re delighted at the outcome of this important legislation in the House,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “especially since the floor debate brought out all of the tired old cliché arguments. Congressional anti-gunners pulled out all the stops, but their rhetoric could not derail this common sense measure.

“As so many of the bill’s proponents wisely pointed out during the debate,” he continued, “citizens do not leave their self-defense rights at a state border. Those who would argue otherwise evidently have no interest in public safety.

“What was remarkable,” Gottlieb observed, “is how many self-defense opponents suddenly discovered the cause of states’ rights as an excuse to oppose this legislation. This measure is not about state’s rights, it’s about individual rights.”

The vote found seven Republicans voting against the measure and 43 Democrats supporting it.

“How the bill fares when it reaches the Senate remains to be seen,” Gottlieb noted, “but this recorded House vote will give the nation’s firearms owners a chance to see how their Congressional representative feels about their rights under the Second Amendment, and about the safety of their families when they travel across state lines.

“House members can give all the lip service they want to the Second Amendment,” he concluded, “but it is votes like this that separate the superficial from the sincere.”

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Wayne LaPierre Looks Ahead To The 2012 Elections

November 17, 2011 by

Wayne LaPierre and President Obama’s re-election advisors agree on one thing – the so-called battleground states will be key to Obama winning re-election in 2012. These states have large gun-owning and hunting populations but, for the most part, went to Obama in 2008. LaPierre notes that if gun-owners can generate just 2-3% more votes against Obama in those states, he’s toast. I agree. I would also add that it is up to the Republicans to nominate someone other than the wishy-washy on guns Mitt Romney.

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Four NC Democrats – It Is Good Enough For Them But Not For You

November 17, 2011 by 1 Comment

Section 22 of North Carolina Session Law 2011-268 – House Bill 650 provides universal reciprocity to any out-of-state concealed carry permit by the State of North Carolina. This was passed by the General Assembly on June 17th and signed by Gov. Bev Perdue on June 23rd. It goes into effect on December 1st.

Just as the Mecklenburg Declaration predated the Declaration of Independence so, too, does HB 650 predate HR 822 – the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. By approving universal reciprocity, the North Carolina General Assembly has granted the law-abiding citizens of other states who have gone through their state’s concealed carry permit process the right to carry in the Tar Heel State.

So why do four Congressmen from North Carolina want to deny North Carolinians the same rights and privileges that we have granted visitors from other states?

That is essentially what Rep. David Price (D-NC-4), Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC-1), Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC-12), and Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC-13) are saying with their votes against HR 822. They think it is OK if someone from New York or Massachusetts or California comes to North Carolina and carries concealed with their state’s permit but we North Carolinians, rude country bumpkins that we are, should not be allowed to carry there because it might upset the anti-gun regimes in those states.

Sean pointed the hypocrisy of the Mayor of Carrboro objecting to HR 822 while North Carolina had granted universal reciprocity a few weeks ago. It is obvious that these four are of the same sort. 

Oh, they will disagree with this characterization but it is what it is – a kowtow to gun prohibitionists like Mayor Bloomberg. Fortunately, three other NC Democrats – Shuler, Kissell, and McIntyre – not only voted for HR 822 but were co-sponsors. So too were all the Republicans in the North Carolina delegation. I plan on sending each one of those nine a nice thank you note.

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Blah, Blah, Blah….Waaa!

November 17, 2011 by 5 Comments

Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors are not happy. They want you to know that. That is why they have released this whining press release bemoaning the fact that the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed HR 822 today.

“Ten months after a disturbed man carried a concealed weapon to shoot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others, six fatally, the House voted today to gut state laws on who can carry concealed, loaded guns in public. This was an absolutely embarrassing display of putting special interests and fund raising ahead of public safety.

“A majority of the House ignored the advice of police, prosecutors, domestic violence experts, faith leaders and more than 600 mayors who made clear that this measure will put police and communities at greater risk. Many members also cast aside their usual respect for the authority of states to decide how to protect public safety in their communities.

“With unemployment over nine percent and Congress taking no action to create jobs, it is astonishing that catering to the Washington gun lobby is the top priority for House Republicans. The vast majority of actual gun-owning Americans oppose this bill: 82 percent of them want states, not Washington, to decide who can carry concealed, loaded guns in public.

“We applaud the Democratic leadership, particularly Chairman Conyers, for waging a principled fight against this bill, and offer thanks to Republican members who stood up for police and public safety, including Representatives Peter King, Michael Grimm, Bob Turner, Dan Lungren, Robert Dold and others.

“The debate now moves to the Senate, which had the sense to reject this measure in 2009. We urge them to do so again.”

In their call to states rights, Mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York and Thomas Menino of Boston remind me of a certain Alabama governor who famously said in his inaugural speech “and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” You just need to replace the word segregation with gun control and you have essentially the same argument that George Wallace made in 1963. Wallace repudiated his words late in his life saying they were one of his life’s biggest regrets. I doubt Bloomberg and Menino will ever repudiate their anti-gun rights bigotry.

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HR 822 Passes The House 272 to 154

November 16, 2011 by 13 Comments

This afternoon at approximately 5:50pm, the House of Representatives passed HR 822 – the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 – on a vote of 272 aye, 154 nay, and 7 not voting.

The ayes were comprised of 229 Republicans and 43 Democrats. Meanwhile the noes were comprised of 147 Democrats and 7 Republicans.

There was only one amendment adopted prior to passage and it was Amendment No. 10 proposed by Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA). This amendment would order the General Accounting Office to study “the ability of state and local law enforcement authorities to verify the validity of out-of-state concealed firearms permits.” It was adopted on a voice vote. All the other amendments were either withdrawn or failed.

The Republicans who voted no were Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), Rep. Robert Dold (R-IL), Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), Rep. Robert Turner (R-NY), and Rep. Robert Woodall (R-GA). Of these Republicans, Dold holds the suburban Chicago seat formerly held by anti-gunners Rahm Emanuel and Mark Kirk. Grimm, King, and Turner all represent districts either in or adjoining New York City so I think you can see the fine hand of Mayor Bloomberg at work there. Finally, I can’t explain Woodall’s vote other than a fit of pique at having his amendment defeated and I have no clue about Amash or Lungren.

The full list of the Ayes and Noes can be found here. If your Representative voted Aye, send them a note thanking them. If not, ask them why the heck not!

Now it is on to the Senate where it may or may not pass.

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Rep. Renee Ellmers Speaking In Favor Of HR 822

November 16, 2011 by

Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC-2) spoke on the House of Representatives floor this afternoon in support of HR 822. She is both a co-sponsor of the bill and a North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit holder. In her speech, she held up her CHP while saying she and the thousands of other North Carolinians who hold a CHP are honest, law-abiding individuals seeking to protect themselves and their families.

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Unintended Irony

November 16, 2011 by 1 Comment

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing on Sen. Chuck Schumer’s bill, S. 436 – Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011. One of the witnesses was Heather Anderson of the Washington State Patrol. Her written testimony spoke to Washington State’s submissions for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

In what can only be called an unintended ironic statement she said,

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has determined that Washington State does not meet the requirements of the NIAA for firearm restoration of rights and a relief program. ATF considers Washington’s relief law too permissive in some areas and too restrictive in others. This does not allow Washington to participate in NIAA requests for grant funding. The legislature has not updated state law to match federal requirements. There is continued effort by multiple agencies to accomplish this in the future.

What makes this so ironic is that ATF has not processed ANY request for restoration of firearms rights since October 1992. And the reason that they haven’t is because Sen. Chuck Schumer always inserts a clause in the appropriations language to deny them the funds to process these applications for the restoration of firearms rights.

While 18 USC 925(c) does provide for judicial review of applications for the restoration of firearms rights, the Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Bean that the courts cannot perform judicial review until such time as an application is rejected by ATF. If ATF is denied the money to process these applications, there can be no denial. In other words, the consummate Catch-22 situation.

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Quote Of The Day

November 16, 2011 by

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing yesterday on one of Mayor Bloomberg’s pet projects. The bill, S. 436, the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011, was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The witnesses were what might be expected from in the Democrat controlled Senate with one exception.

Attorney David Kopel appeared to testify before the subcommittee in opposition to the bill. He correctly tore the bill to pieces. His conclusion is the quote of the day.

S. 436 violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, the Fifth Amendment guarantee of due of law, the Fifth Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the law, and the Tenth Amendment’s reservation of state authority over purely intrastate activities. S. 436 further violates the Tenth Amendment by imposing on the vast majority of states an extremely repressive system of restrictions on law-abiding gun owners which those states have already rejected.

Ever since 1776, Congress has recognized that a national gun registry would be a dangerous violation of the right to keep and bear arms. S. 436 creates such a registry.

S. 436 has no legitimate constitutional basis of authority, because S. 436 attempts to twists Congress’s real power to regulate interstate commerce into the power to regulate what is not interstate and not commercial.

S. 436 treats arrests as if they were convictions.

S. 436 takes the current gun ban for the criminally insane and applies it to non-dangerous people who have been ordered to get counseling for mental problems that have absolutely nothing to do with dangerousness—including stuttering, lack of sexual desire, and nicotine dependence.

Whatever good intentions might lie behind S. 436, the actual bill as drafted is grotesquely overbroad, and a Pandora’s Box of the dangerous consequences that are the inevitable result of making it a felony for law-abiding Americans to possess and use firearms.

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Good Kids Doing Good In Currituck County

November 16, 2011 by 3 Comments

Currituck County, North Carolina is about as far away from me as you can get and still be in North Carolina. It is in the extreme northeastern corner of the state. It is also home to the U.S. Training Center – formerly Blackwater – in Moyock. Currituck County has a waterfowling tradition that dates back to 1800s when wealthy Northerners established hunt clubs there. And when market hunting was still legal, it was home to a number of market hunters who shipped ducks and geese to cities like Washington and New York

Given the long waterfowling tradition of Currituck County, it comes as no surprise that a carpentry class at Currituck High School was called upon to help rebuild duck blinds destroyed by Hurricane Irene.

CURRITUCK, N.C. (November 15, 2011) – When Hurricane Irene took down two of the four waterfowl blinds in Currituck Sound on a N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission game land, the biologists and technicians knew exactly who to call.

And it wasn’t seasoned carpenters or longtime experts.

They called Jeff Rhodes, and his woodshop students at Currituck High School. The decision to call Rhodes was natural – his students had made several blinds for the Wildlife Commission in the late 1990s. The students also have built blinds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The well-made, high-quality blinds had withstood hurricanes and tropical storms for more than a decade when two blinds fell before Hurricane Irene’s fury in August.

So the Wildlife Commission asked Rhodes if his students could quickly build a couple of replacement blinds – in time for the hunters who would soon flock to the Currituck Banks Game Land for waterfowl season. Rhodes easily said yes.

“A lot of my students are hunters or outdoorsmen,” said Rhodes, who is in his 16th year of teaching at Currituck High School. “I like to get them involved in a project that not only helps the community, but also piques their interest. It’s easier to get them excited that way.”

Rhodes said many of the students had helped to build waterfowl blinds for their families. And for students needing to develop carpentry skills, building the blind will prepare them for their more advanced project – constructing a three-bedroom house.

However, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, and the waterfowl hunters who use the blinds in the Currituck Sound, may benefit the most. With short notice, the students have provided two blinds to replace the ones the hurricane destroyed.

“They have provided a real service to all of our constituents,” said Dale Davis, a biologist with the Commission. “They have a local connection to the Currituck Sound, and hunt on the sound and have contributed to the continued use of the Wildlife Commission blinds by all sportsmen.”

Use of the blinds in the Currituck Sound adjacent to the Currituck Banks Game Land is by permit only. For more information, see Permit Hunting Opportunities.

The picture below is of one of the blinds built by the students. It looks like they did a great job in a very harsh building environment.

 
Photo courtesy of NC Wildlife Resources Commission

The group of kids who built this blind and their teacher Jeff Rhodes are shown below. I’m glad to see that they are getting the recognition they deserve for doing good works and doing it well. It is a shame that students like this don’t get more attention.

Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission

H/T Outdoor Wire

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HR 822 Passes First Hurdle

November 16, 2011 by

HR 822, the National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, passed a hurdle today when the House approved H. Res. 463 by a vote of 271 to 153. House Resolution 463 provides the rule under which the debate will be conducted, any amendments that can be considered, and other procedural issues. All bills have a rule before they are considered for final passage.

Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 822 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order. The resolution waives all points of order against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute, now printed in the bill. The resolution waives all points of order against the amendments printed in the report.

There were a number of Democrats who voted for H.Res. 463 along with all the Republicans that were present. There were no Republicans who opposed this resolution.

In the Rules Committee, they voted 8-3 along party lines not to allow an “open rule” for HR 822. An open rule would have allowed amendments to be offered from the floor of the House. By not approving an open rule, the Rules Committee made sure that opponents could not keep proposing an endless number of amendments in order to delay the bill. Moreover, it also means that the bill will be clean without the proposed amendment from some Illinois reps which would have allowed concealed carry in both D.C. and Illinois which do not currently have concealed carry.

The 10 amendments that will be considered during debate on HR 822 all come from those opposed to it. Given the number of Representatives who voted for H.Res. 463 and who co-sponsored the bill, they have virtually no chance of passing. A summary is below.

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

1. Woodall (GA): Would protect the rights of states that already have reciprocal agreements in place for the concealed carry of firearms to continue enforcing those preexisting agreements. (10 minutes)

2. McCarthy, Carolyn (NY): Would specify that the legislation can only go into effect in states that have passed legislation enacting the bill. (10 minutes)

3. Hastings, Alcee (FL): Would exempt states from issuing a carry permit on the basis of state reciprocity which do not require individuals to apply for and complete a carry permit application at their local law enforcement station. (10 minutes)

4. Jackson Lee (TX): Would require a state to create a comprehensive database that would contain all permits and licenses issued by the State for carrying a concealed weapon and would make this comprehensive database available to law enforcement officers from all states 24 hours a day. (10 minutes)

5. Conyers (MI): Would preserve state laws with respect to eligibility for concealed-carry. (10 minutes)

6. Johnson, Hank (GA): Would require the possession or carrying of a concealed handgun in a state to be subject to that state’s law regarding concealed carry in regards to firearm safety training that includes live-fire exercise. (10 minutes)

7. Cohen (TN): Would exempt from the bill any State law requiring a person to be at least 21 years of age to possess or carry a concealed handgun. (10 minutes)

8. Jackson Lee (TX): Would require a person provide at least 24 hours notice to a law enforcement officer of the State of the intention to possess or carry a concealed handgun in the State (10 minutes)

9. Cicilline (RI): Would limit the bill from taking effect in a state until the State Attorney General, head of the State police, and the Secretary of State have jointly certified that the other state’s carry laws are substantially similar to its own licensing or permitting requirements. (10 minutes)

10. Reichert (WA): Would require a GAO study on the ability of state and local law enforcement authorities to verify the validity of out-of-state concealed firearms permits. (10 minutes)

The House reconvenes tomorrow at 10am. However, the schedule for floor votes is not yet posted on the House’s website. Sebastian does report it should be voted on tomorrow.

Correction: As Sebastian points out, Rob Woodall (R-GA) is not anti-gun. Moreover, Dave Reichert (R-WA) is not either. I think his concerns about the bill stem from his service in law enforcement. He was the Sheriff of King County before going to Congress. Both Woodall and Reichert voted for H.Res. 463 which is considered a vote in favor of the eventual passage of HR 822.