by Now that HR 822 has passed the House of Representatives in overwhelming fashion, it moves to the Senate. Unless I am greatly mistaken, there is significant pressure on senators from both sides of the debate. The Brady Campaign is ramping up the pressure with an auto-mailer campaign asking senators to vote no. Nonetheless, even they admit they don’t have the votes to stop it.
I sent an email today to Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) about the bill. While I have no worries that Sen. Richard Burr will be a solid backer of the bill, Hagan can be wishy-washy despite her claims of being a Second Amendment supporter. What surprised me was that I got an email back from her office almost immediately discussing her stance – if you could call it that – on the bill. If she hadn’t been getting lots of mail on the issue, she wouldn’t have been so prepared to issue something other than a generic thank you for your letter response.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for contacting me regarding National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 822). I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue.
This bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on February 18, 2011, and was referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
If enacted, the bill would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry their firearm in any other state that also issues concealed firearm permits. Currently, 48 states, including North Carolina, have laws permitting residents to carry concealed firearms.
While H.R. 822 has yet to reach the Senate, I pledge to keep your thoughts on this issue in mind. My family, like the great state of North Carolina, has a long tradition of hunting and gun ownership, and I take great pride in that heritage. I have opposed requiring gun owners to obtain federal licenses or creating a federal system to track gun sales and transfers, as I believe these proposals would infringe this important constitutional right. I will continue to support the rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment.
Again, thank you for contacting my office. It is truly an honor to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate, and I hope you will not hesitate to contact me in the future should you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Kay R. Hagan
If you haven’t already done it, it is time to contact both of your state’s senators and urge them to vote for the National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. I wouldn’t want to think that our voices could be drowned out by an auto-mailer run by the Brady Campaign.
Hmm, might be time to fire up the old automated mailer again.
I don't have to contact my Senators. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are already against it, and will vote NO.
I contacted Bob Casey (PA-D) and Pat Toomey (PA-R) the day the House Bill passed. I was unhappy to see Scott Brown (MASS-R)already out against it. I am not optimistic.
Left Coast Greengineer, send them an e mail anyway, just so when they say they haven't heard from anyone you will see them lying directly.
Fingers are crossed!
@PT: I was thinking of that. The difficulty comes in having 100 Senators and 50 states and then the need to get past filters that the Senators have on email. Hmmm. It bears thinking about!
I'll send the email, but Kirk and Durbin have never seen anti-gun bills they couldn't support.
thanks… i will politic my gals here in maine.. they can be pretty squichy (i am being polite)… but olympia is running in 2012, and there are alot of gunnies here in maine… we will get er done!
@DamDoc – didn't you mean to say you'll get er done, ayuh!
My Dad lived the rest of his life after he retired from the Army in the Waldoboro area.