Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017

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Today’s The Day

December 6, 2017 by

Today is the day that national concealed carry reciprocity finally comes to the floor of the House of Representatives. We have been promised it since last year’s Presidential campaign. It should have come up in March or April but the House Republican leadership seems to have been dragging their feet on this.

We have seen reciprocity pass the House before only to die in the Senate. HR 822 passed the House by a strong majority (272-154) back in November 2011. As much as some are upset about the pairing of carry reciprocity with the Fix NICS Act, that plus the number of red state Democrats up for re-election in the Senate may be the thing that gets it passed. The main thing in the Senate is not only to get it passed but to get it passed without amendments that would either cripple reciprocity or would add a virtual assault weapons ban to the bill. I could see Sen. Dianne Feinstein trying to do both of those things.

In the meantime, here is the schedule for today as put out by the House Majority Leader’s Office.

H.R. 38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, Rules Committee Print (Closed Rule, One Hour of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Richard Hudson / Judiciary Committee)
Postponed Suspension Votes:
1) S. 1266 – Enhancing Veteran Care Act (Sponsored by Sen. James M. Inhofe / Veterans Affairs Committee)
2) H.Con.Res. 90 – Condemning ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya and calling for an end to the attacks in and an immediate restoration of humanitarian access to the state of Rakhine in Burma, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Joseph Crowley / Foreign Affairs Committee)
Special Order Speeches

The House will first have to vote on House Resolution 645 which contains the rule for consideration of HR 38. The Rules Committee provided this summary of the rule:

Rule Information

COMMITTEE ACTION:
REPORTED BY RECORD VOTE of 8-3 on Tuesday, December 5, 2017.
FLOOR ACTION ON H. RES. 645: 
MANAGERS: Collins/Hastings
1. Closed rule.
2. Provides one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
3. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
4. Provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 115-45 shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
5. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
6. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

The bottom line is that today is the day to light up the phones to Capitol Hill and district offices. You can be damn sure the gun prohibitionists are doing it and thanks to Giffords you know what they are going to say.

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Too Slick By Half

December 6, 2017 by 2 Comments

The (anti-gun) cult of personality known as Giffords has produced a Concealed Carry Reciprocity Toolkit for all their uninformed followers. It provides talking points, phone scripts, email templates, pre-written tweets, ready-to-use graphics, and loaded (pun intended) town hall questions.

Here are some of their talking points:

TALKING POINTS

  • This bill would make it legal for dangerous and untrained people to carry loaded, hidden guns in more public places. If this bill passes, people who are prohibited from getting a concealed carry permit in a state with strong gun laws will be allowed to apply for a permit in a state with weaker laws. This includes convicted stalkers, domestic abusers, people convicted of violent crimes, and people with no training or experience firing a gun.

  • This bill fails to create a national standard for who should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon and undermines states rights by forcing states with strong concealed carry laws to honor permits from states with weak or non-existent concealed carry laws. Right now, states have the right to choose which states’ concealed carry permits they recognize, which is important because the requirement to carry hidden, loaded guns in public vary drastically from state to state. If this bill passes, that will no longer be the case.
  • Concealed carry reciprocity will make it nearly impossible for law enforcement officers to quickly and easily verify that people carrying a hidden, loaded weapon are doing so legally. Nearly every major law enforcement association OPPOSES this bill because of its disastrous consequences for public safety.
  • Concealed carry reciprocity will threaten the safety of victims of domestic violence, dating violence and stalking by enabling domestic violence offenders to follow their victims across state lines with loaded, concealed firearms. Preliminary data from the National Domestic Violence Hotline shows that 23% of victims reported that their abuser crossed state lines in an attempt to further assault their victims.
  • Weakening gun laws will increase violent crime in our communities. Recent research found that violent crime increased in states that loosened concealed carry laws, with 10% more murders and up to 14% more violent crime.

You can examine the entire document here.

What I think this illustrates is just how much of a top-down, Astro-turf organization that the group formerly known as Americans for Responsible Solutions really is. This was obviously created for them by public relations and media professionals. It assumes that the Know Nothings who feel that “something has to be done” are too uninformed to write their own letters or say something more than “I’m against this” when calling Congressional offices.

I find it highly ironic that a group so closely associated with the Democrats would go full “states’ rights” in their opposition to carry reciprocity. While it is now the rallying cry of the progressives on this issue, it was the rallying cry for racist Democrats in the 1950s and 60s in their opposition to integration and civil rights.

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HR 38 Is Moving To A Floor Vote

December 4, 2017 by

The House Rules Committee will issue a rule for HR 38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 – on Tuesday, December 5th. This news was announced on Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio show by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) on Sunday.

It is expected that the bill will come before the House for debate and a vote starting on Wednesday.

However, as predicted by Rep. Tom Massie (R-KY) the Fixed NICS bill has been merged with concealed carry reciprocity. It is now Title II of HR 38. Massie goes on to say that when the bill hits the Senate, carry reciprocity will be dropped and only the Fix NICS portion approved. Then given different bills have passed the House and Senate it will go to a conference committee who will only report out the Fix NICS portion of the bill. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) has offered an amendment to the bill being considered in the Rules Committee that would drop the carry portion of the bill.

It should be noted that Massie, despite being chairman of the Second Amendment Caucus, has opposed HR 38 from the start according to Dave Cole who is both a constituent of Massie and a blogger at Black Man with a Gun.

I think it was to be expected that that bills would be combined in that they both dealt with guns and both came out of the House Judiciary Committee at the same time. The NSSF is supporting both parts of the bill including the Fix NICS portion.

HR 4477 – Fix NICS – as it passed the House Judiciary Committee includes a provision to require the Attorney General to provide a report on how often bump stocks had been used in crimes. This would be part of the combined bill. That said, I think the actual instances of a bump stock equipped carbine or rifle being used in a crime will be very few.

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HR 38 Moves Forward

November 30, 2017 by

The House Judiciary Committee passed HR 38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 – yesterday on a 19-11 vote. There were a number of amendments offered. Many of these amendments were meant to gut the bill. Of the 22 amendments offered, only three were adopted and all came from Republican members of the committee. The bill now moves to the whole House of Representatives for consideration.

The first amendment was in the form of a committee substitute offered by Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) which added a third section to the bill concerning off-duty and retired sworn law enforcement officers. The amendment would allow these individuals to both carry concealed and discharge weapons in school zones.

The second amendment that was accepted was offered by Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL). His amendment clarified that nothing in HR 38 would prevent a law enforcement officer from “conducting a brief investigative stop in accordance with the Constitution of the United States” if they had a reasonable suspicion to the violation of any law. This passed on a voice vote.

The final amendment that passed was from Rep. Daryl Issa (R-CA) and concerned the carrying of concealed firearms by Federal judges. It allows Federal judges to carry concealed in any state so long as they are not prohibited from receiving a firearm. In other words, if Justice Ginsberg can pass a NICS check, then she could carry a concealed firearm not that that would be likely.

The whole list of amendments and their disposition is on this page on the House Judiciary Committee website.

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Firearms Policy Coalition Seeks Improvements In HR 38

November 29, 2017 by

The Firearms Policy Coalition is headquartered in Sacramento, California. Being as they are in one of the bluest states with some of the worst gun laws, they are hoping for passage of HR 38. However, they want to make it better for those who live in states like California, New York, New Jersey, etc. They also want the bill to include those living in Federal districts like DC, commonwealths like Puerto Rico, and other territories like the Northern Mariana Islands.

Many legal scholars agree with the FPC that the bill would be on stronger Constitutional grounds if it was based not on the commerce clause. The FPC would like to see the right to carry nationally be based upon the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms. They hold that this would reinforce the rulings in Heller and McDonald.

Their full release with embedded links to their proposed changes is below:

SACRAMENTO,
CA (November 28, 2017) — Yesterday, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC)
sent a second letter regarding H.R.38 (the Concealed Carry Reciprocity
Act of 2017) to bill sponsor Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and House
co-sponsors. The letter says the pro-gun bill could potentially “leave
law-abiding people exposed” because of “a byzantine patchwork of state
and local prohibitions” and suggested solutions to 6 individual legal
problems in the bill’s text.
The
group’s concerns also include “vague and undefined terms,” an exemption
to the federal Gun Free School Zone Act they say is “of limited
utility,” and the bill’s total reliance on
“constitutionally-antagonistic Commerce Clause doctrine.” FPC also
suggests that the measure’s scope be extended to include protections for
people in places that are not a “State or political subdivision
thereof,” like Washington, D.C. (a federal district), as well as
commonwealths, republics, and territories “administered or controlled by
the United States (i.e., American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana
Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).”
FPC’s
letter says that, if H.R38 is passed without some important changes, it
“may very well indirectly cause people to be prosecuted and lose their
Second Amendment rights over harmless mistakes.” And, if “H.R.38 is not
amended to address our concerns,” they “predict that this
well-intentioned measure would leave millions of peaceful and
law-abiding people exposed to serious criminal liability.”
“As
we said in March, H.R.38 is a significant piece of legislation
that—properly amended to address the issues discussed above—would
establish one of the greatest, if not the greatest, legislative
advancements of Second Amendment rights so far in the history of our
federal government,” said FPC President Brandon Combs in the letter.
“And with just a few simple but important changes, H.R.38 could unlock
and protect the Second Amendment right to bear arms for all law-abiding
people—especially where it is denied today.”
Explained
FPC Spokesperson Craig DeLuz, “Any bill that seeks to expand the right
to keep and bear arms must be carefully crafted to ensure protection for
all law-abiding people, but especially for those in ‘battleground
states’ and cities hostile to Second Amendment rights.”
“If
a bill doesn’t protect people in places like California, New York, New
Jersey, and Maryland, then it doesn’t really get the job done,” DeLuz
concluded. “Our reasonable suggested amendments would help ensure that
people in anti-gun jurisdictions can exercise their fundamental,
individual right to bear arms.” 
A copy of FPC’s letters supporting H.R.38 can be viewed or downloaded at http://bit.ly/support-hr-38. Gun owners who wish to send letters supporting H.R.38 may use FPC’s free Grassroots Action Tools at http://bit.ly/support-hr-38.
FPC has also established #OurGunVote, a grassroots campaign to urge pro-gun bill passage in the House and Senate, available at http://www.ourgunvote.com/.
H.R.38 is scheduled to be next heard by the House Judiciary Committee at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 29.
Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org)
is a 501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially the
fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

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Rep. Richard Hudson On His Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act

November 29, 2017 by

One of the speakers at this year’s Gun Rights Policy Conference held in Dallas was Shaneen Allen. She made a plea for the passage of HR 38 so as to protect anyone else from having to go through what she did when she crossed into New Jersey. As attorney Evan Nappen who has handled multiple firearms cases in New Jersey noted yesterday on Facebook, passage of national reciprocity will change that state from being the “North Korea of CCW”. Nappen was the attorney for both Shaneen Allen and Brian Aitken.

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) specifically mentions that Allen case in his release announcing that his bill is scheduled for markup today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) released the following statement after the House Judiciary Committee announced it will mark up his bill, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 (H.R. 38), on Wednesday, November 29:
 
“For me and the vast majority of Americans who support concealed carry reciprocity, this is welcome progress. I want to thank Chairman Bob Goodlatte for his strong leadership to protect our Second Amendment rights. I will continue to work with my colleagues and President Trump to pass this common sense legislation to protect law-abiding citizens.”
 
Concealed carry reciprocity is one of the most important pro-Second Amendment measures in Congress. Currently, the patchwork of reciprocity laws and agreements between states is confusing and has caused law-abiding citizens like Shaneen Allen to unwittingly break the law and suffer arrest and detention. Even the most careful and knowledgeable concealed carry permit holders find it difficult to navigate the current maze of state and local concealed carry laws. H.R. 38 is a common sense solution. The bill, which is supported by major pro-Second Amendment groups and has 213 cosponsors, would allow law-abiding citizens with a state-issued concealed carry license or permit to conceal a handgun in any other state that allows concealed carry. It would also allow law-abiding residents of Constitutional carry states the ability to carry in other states that recognize their own residents’ right to concealed carry.
 
H.R. 38 would allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed only if they are not federally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm, are carrying a valid government-issued photo ID, and are lawfully licensed or otherwise entitled to carry a concealed handgun. Each person would have to follow the laws of the state, county and municipality in which they are carrying concealed.
 
For a one-pager on the bill, click here. For a Q&A document, click here.
 
In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court ruled that “the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right,” which is “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.” This fundamental right does not stop at a state’s borders and law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise this right when crossing state lines. In addition, Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution states, “Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.” This is the clause that allows a driver’s license to be recognized across state lines.
 
Contrary to the misinformation critics spread, under H.R. 38, states would retain their authority to enact time and place restrictions on where people can lawfully carry in the state. In addition, the bill would not make it any easier to buy a gun. It has nothing to do with the purchase of guns, it would not alter access to guns, and it would not change the federal law requiring background checks.
 
The American people understand these facts. That’s why an overwhelming majority of Americans support concealed carry reciprocity – 73% according to a recent New York Times survey.
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HR 38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 – Comes Up For Committee Vote This Morning

November 29, 2017 by

The House Judiciary Committee is holding its markup hearings on three bills this morning at 10 am EST. HR 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, and HR 4434, the Fix NICS Act of 2017, will be two of the bills included in the markup. The other bill concerns amber alerts on Indian reservations.

Passing national reciprocity was one of the promises that President Trump and the Republicans made to the gun rights community in 2016. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced HR 38 on the first day of this session of Congress and we have been waiting (and waiting) for any movement on the bill. The bill currently has 210 Republican and 3 Democrat co-sponsors.

HR 4434 and S. 2135 are identical bills introduced to correct some of the problems with the reporting of data to the FBI for inclusion in the databases used to conduct the NICS instant background checks. Both bills were introduced after the murders at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. In that instance, the murderer had convictions on his record that made him a prohibited person. However, the US Air Force failed to report his convictions to the FBI and the murderer was able to buy multiple firearms after passing multiple NICS checks. The House bill is sponsored by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and the Senate bill by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). There is bipartisan support for both of these bills.

You can view the hearings live on YouTube.

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NRA And NSSF Praise Introduction Of HR 38

January 4, 2017 by

The National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation have issued releases praising the introduction of HR 38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.

From the NRA.

Fairfax, Va. – On behalf of its five-million members, the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) applauded the introduction of H.R. 38, The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, authored by Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-8). This legislation would eliminate the confusing patchwork of state carry laws by allowing individuals who possess concealed carry permits from their home state or who are not prohibited from carrying concealed in their home state to exercise those rights in any other state that does not prohibit concealed carry.

“The current patchwork of state and local laws is confusing for even the most conscientious and well-informed concealed carry permit holders. This confusion often leads to law-abiding gun owners running afoul of the law when they exercise their right to self-protection while traveling or temporarily living away from home,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA-ILA. “Congressman Hudson’s legislation provides a much needed solution to a real problem for law-abiding gun owners.”

This legislation would not override state laws governing the time, place or manner of carriage or establish national standards for concealed carry. Individual state gun laws would still be respected. If under federal law a person is prohibited from carrying a firearm, they will continue to be prohibited from doing so under this bill.

“Law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise their fundamental right to self-defense while traveling across state lines,” continued Cox. “This is an extremely important issue to our members and we thank Congressman Hudson for leading the fight to protect our rights,” concluded Cox.

From the NSSF:

U.S. Rep. Hudson Introduces NSSF-Backed
National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill

NEWTOWN, Conn.-U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced the NSSF-supported Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 (H.R. 38) on the first day of the 115th Congress. The proposed legislation, with 63 co-sponsors, would compel states to recognize concealed carry permits issued from other states that have concealed carry laws within their own borders – much in the same way a driver’s license is recognized. The bill aims to eliminate the confusion of varying state-by-state laws and provide protection for Second Amendment rights for permit holders.

“Our Second Amendment right doesn’t disappear when we cross state lines, and this legislation guarantees that,” Hudson said. “The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 is a common sense solution to a problem too many Americans face. It will provide law-abiding citizens the right to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits.”

In addition to interstate recognition of concealed carry permits, the bill would also allow concealed carry in the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, and on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation, as well as provide greater legal protections in both civil and criminal cases for permit holders.

“This legislation provides an answer to the confusing patchwork of concealed carry permits, particularly with regard to states where laws make unwitting criminals out of legal permit holders for a simple mistake of a wrong traffic turn,” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “It safeguards a state’s right to determine their own laws while protecting the Second Amendment rights of all Americans. We thank Rep. Hudson for his leadership on behalf of America’s hunters and recreational shooters.”

In 2015, Rep. Hudson sponsored similar legislation with 216 co-sponsors.

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Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017

January 4, 2017 by 2 Comments

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced HR 38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 – yesterday on the first day of the 115th Congress. The bill provides that if you have a concealed carry permit or you reside in a state which has constitutional carry then you may carry in any state that allows concealed carry for their own residents. The state in which you are visiting would still maintain the right to limit where you may or may not carry concealed.

Federal areas such as National Wildlife Refuges, Corps of Engineers, BLM, and Bureau of Reclamation lands would now be open to concealed carry under the bill. Furthermore, it reinforces the ability to carry concealed in National Parks.

The bill also puts the burden of proof on the state or municipality to show that an individual did not comply with the law if detained. It would also grant the individual attorneys’ fees if he or she won their case.

The bill currently has 63 co-sponsors including at least two Democrats. I expect the bill to have many more co-sponsors added in due time.

In introducing the bill, Rep. Hudson said:

“Our Second Amendment right doesn’t disappear when we cross state lines, and this legislation guarantees that. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 is a common sense solution to a problem too many Americans face. It will provide law-abiding citizens the right to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits. As a member of President-elect Trump’s Second Amendment Coalition, I look forward to working with my colleagues and the administration to get this legislation across the finish line.”

Donald Trump has signaled his readiness to sign such a bill if it passed Congress.

A few things stand out in the language of the bill. First, it does not specify that the concealed carry permit be issued by the carrier’s state of residence. It just says that the person must not be a prohibited person and that they are carrying a permit issued “pursuant to the law of a State.” Your state of residence is only an issue for those people living in constitutional carry states.

Second, if I am reading it correctly, the term handgun means any handgun with any magazine loaded with any ammunition. It does not say that I would be prohibited from having a standard size magazine in California nor does it say that the magazine has to be loaded with ball ammo if I was passing through New Jersey which bans hollow-point ammunition to non-law enforcement.

Third, a person possessing a handgun under this act would not be subject to “the prohibitions of section 922(q).” 18 U.S. Code § 922(q) is the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1994.

The only thing missing from this act is any mention of carry in National Forests.

I have embedded the bill below so that you can read it and see if my conclusions regarding the language of the bill are correct.