by There is nothing like an attack on themselves to spur Congress to action. The day after the shooting at the Republican baseball team practice, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has introduced the DC Personal Protection Reciprocity Act. The act would grant carry reciprocity to anyone with a permit issued by their home state to carry legally in the District. While this is a good first effort, it would still mean that people from highly restrictive carry states like New Jersey, New York, and California (among others) would be screwed.
Looking over the list of co-sponsors of this bill, I see Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) who used to be my Congressman and who is now head of the Freedom Caucus. I also see Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) who is or was the owner of ProShots indoor range and training facility in Winston-Salem before being elected to Congress. I also see Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) who was one of those under fire at that Alexandria baseball field.
HR 2909 has been referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Four of the sponsors of the bill sit on this committee.
Below is the press release on the bill from Rep. Massie:
Washington, D.C – Today, Congressman Thomas Massie, Chairman of the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus, introduced H.R 2909, the D.C Personal Protection Reciprocity Act. This legislation would allow individuals with a valid concealed carry permit issued from their home state to carry their firearms in the District of Columbia.
“After the horrific shooting at the Republican Congressional Baseball practice, there will likely be calls for special privileges to protect politicians,” Congressman Massie explained. “Our reaction should instead be to protect the right of all citizens guaranteed in the Constitution: the right to self-defense. I do not want to extend a special privilege to politicians, because the right to keep and bear arms is not a privilege, it is a God-given right protected by our Constitution.”
“If not for the heroic efforts of the United States Capitol Police at the ball field yesterday, things could have been much worse. What’s always evident in these situations is this: the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
“To ensure public safety, we need to repeal laws that keep good guys from carrying guns, since not everyone has a personal police detail,” stated Congressman Massie. “The right to keep and bear arms is the common person’s first line of defense in these situations, and it should never be denied.”
Congress has the authority to legislate in this area pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to “exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever over such District as may become the Seat of the Government of the United States.”
Although Virginia extends reciprocity to concealed carry permit holders in many states, the members of Congress and accompanying staff traveled directly from D.C., and were traveling back to D.C after the practice was over. It was D.C.’s harsh gun control laws that prevented these law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to bear arms.
Original Cosponsors include Reps Trent Franks (R-AZ), Scott Perry (R-PA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Ted Budd (R-NC), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Mark Meadows (R-NC), Jody Hice (R-GA), Justin Amash (R-MI), Mo Brooks (R- AL), Alex Mooney (R-WV), Rod Blum (R-IA), Ken Buck (R-CO), Todd Rokita (R-IN), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Keith Rothfus (R-PA) David Schweikert (R-AZ), Rick Allen (R-GA), Tedd Yoho (R-FL), Randy Weber (R-TX), and Bill Posey (R-FL).
Actual text of the bill has not yet been uploaded to Congress.gov. I have a request into Rep. Massie’s staff for a copy of the text.
UPDATE: I was able to get the text to HR 2909 thanks to Jennifer Krantz who works in Rep. Massie’s office. I have embedded it below:
It will fail… DC HATES the idea of anyone having guns there…
A better approach would be for them to establish Constitutional Carry in DC.
A slight amendment to the proposal would do that. Replace "a permit issued by their home state" by "authorized to carry in any state". (Note that, at least in the better state, Constitutional Carry applies to all persons, not just residents.)
Thanks for rolling out the text.
NY/NJ/MD/Kalifornistan residents could carry so long as they had a permit from any state. See Section 2(2) which modifies DC law to exempt from concealed carry prohibition any person who, "is carrying a valid license or permit which is issued pursuant to the law of a state and…"
By using "a state" instead of a more narrow description of their "state of residence", the bill is effectively permit reciprocity for anyone with any permit from any state. It also requires the DC Chief to issue permits to any individual from any state that does not issue its own permits, as well as issuing a DC permit to any person with a permit from any other state. So while any permit will work, you can still get a DC permit if you want one.
Left out are DC residents. The rest of us are covered.
The bill would also require the DC Chief to cooperate with reciprocity requests from any US State that wishes to grant reciprocity to DC license holders.
The bill is hastily written and leaves some holes. But it'd be interesting if it moved forward.
I went with "home state" in the un-updated post because that is what was put out by Rep. Massie's office.
That's what I figured. Massie didn't author this; it's a retread from previous years. It's another perennial Show Bill meant to make the plebes back home feel good that you proposed something pro-2A while at the same time knowing it won't become law.
National Carry Reciprocity is the best example of a pro-2A Show Bill, but after enough years and enough talk we plebes are actually expecting them to make it happen. I wonder how gun voters are going to react when the GOP ignores us again, even though the GOP campaigned on the issue and now controls the House, the Senate and the White House?
History says voters will look at small advances on the margins (silencers, etc.) and not understand they got screwed by the GOP again.
Also I'll note that this is the same as H.R. 4348 last year, which languished in House Oversight with no action and no hearing. HR 4348 had 38 co-sponsors.
Don't expect this to become law, but it could be a vehicle for some interesting times if they decide to schedule a hearing.
It doesn't require it be your home state. Look at lines 20-25 of Page 2:
‘‘(2) is carrying a valid license or permit which
is issued pursuant to the law of a State and which
permits the individual to carry a concealed firearm
(as so defined); and
‘‘(3) is carrying a valid identification document
containing a photograph of the individual.’’
Rep. Massie is my Congressman, and while I don't oppose this bill per se, I'd much prefer to see this energy expended in getting overall national reciprocity passed. This bill benefits only those who venture into DC…national reciprocity benefits all. I have contacted Rep. Massie's office and said the same.
Any Congress critter who votes themselves more security without taking care of constituents first should be primaried. No need for security if you are unemployed!
The NRA should score such efforts to curtail hypocrisy.
This bill is a good start, but it's not clear to me if this helps MD/NYC/CA residents. COngress should clarify that states must issue permits to ordinary law abiding residents. I just don't care that much about state "sovereignty" on this issue any more, we are way past that.
The text of the bill applies this to any person with a permit from any state – not just their home state.
But it does not help me carry in Maryland, which was my point. I would not go into D.C. if you paid me, gun or no gun. Actually I used to work in D.C. The traffic (for starters) is insane. D.C. is to be avoided at all costs.
Hear, hear.