Slow Facts On HR 822

I met Rob Morse on the last day of the recent Gun Rights Policy Conference. It turns out he was a fellow gun blogger and had a blog named Slow Facts. We spent a few hours in Chicago O’Hare chatting while waiting for our respective flights home, me to North Carolina and Rob to Southern California.

Rob is an engineer by training and he applies that same clarity of thought to piercing the gun prohibitionists’ arguments against national reciprocity for concealed carry in this article.

Defenders of the existing feudal licensing scheme claim that their state has special needs. (Yes, there are a few “special needs” states in these United States. They have been taking the short bus for years now.) So what! Of course each state tests its drivers in slightly different ways to obtain a license. Some towns allow right turns at a red traffic light, and others don’t. We now post traffic signs so the regulations are explicit and not a matter of local knowledge. Gun laws also differ slightly from state to state, and most of the differences are similarly arbitrary.

It is as if California didn’t allow you to cross the border in your pickup truck because your truck is not on their list of approved vehicles. At the border they say, “In our state, we only let certain people drive that kind of truck. Now why would you be needing one?”

Don’t you recognize the same old political excuses?

  • “People will be dying all over the place if we let you drive a truck like that in our state.
  • “We have a long tradition of truck control, and it has served us well.
  • “Only criminals drive that kind of truck and we won’t stand for it here.
  • “Strangers simply don’t understand our system of truck regulation, and we need to keep foreign trucks out of their hands for their own protection.
  • “You wouldn’t want one of our children to get their hands on a truck like this, now would you?
  • “Our local government knows its citizens and determines the trucks that best serve their needs.”

Rob makes a very perceptive argument when he says that one of the major reasons some politicians oppose national reciprocity is that visitors will make the locals look bad by comparison. In other words, when the people of California or New York or New Jersey see visitors carrying concealed, legally and safely, they will begin to wonder why the heck they don’t have the same rights as the visitors.

Read the whole post as it does an excellent job is demolishing the arguments of Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors with their Our Lives, Our Laws campaign.

HR 822 – What It Does And Doesn’t Do

With HR 822 having passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on a 19-11 vote, it is important to understand what it does and doesn’t do. Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors are leading the charge against it from the anti-gun side. Moreover, there are some pro-gun activists such as the National Association for Gun Rights that claim it is a stealth bill for more Federal control. Finally, there is the false accusation in some quarters that the NRA-ILA was coming down on bloggers about the bill.

The impact of HR 822 on North Carolina will be minimal as Sean Sorrentino has pointed out. Effective December 1st, we have universal reciprocity and will recognize the permits from any other state.

In the video below, Cam Edwards interviews John Frazier, Research Director for NRA-ILA, on what the bill does and doesn’t do.

NCGV – Don’t Be Like North Carolina

The Brady Campaign’s North Carolina front group, North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, is opposed to HR 822 – the National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. They just sent out the Tweet seen below:

They don’t want the rest of the country to enjoy the same rights as North Carolinians come December 1st. For on that day, thanks to the passage of HB 650, North Carolina will recognize all out-of-state concealed handgun permits.

SECTION 22.(a) G.S. 14-415.24 reads as rewritten:
Ҥ 14-415.24. Reciprocity; out-of-state handgun permits.
(a) A valid concealed handgun permit or license issued by another state is valid in North Carolina if that state grants the same right to residents of North Carolina who have valid concealed handgun permits issued pursuant to this Article in their possession while carrying concealed weapons in that state.North Carolina.

I guess NCGV has their blinders on as they don’t see the hypocrisy in making such a statement.

Witness List For House Judiciary Hearing On HR 822

The House Judiciary Committee has released their witness list for tomorrow’s hearing on HR 822 – the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. It includes some very familiar names.

Witness List

Ms. Joyce Lee Malcolm
Professor of Law
George Mason University

Mr. David B. Kopel
Adjunct Professor
Denver University Sturm College of Law

Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey
Philadelphia Police Department

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey previously served as head of D.C.’s Metro Police Department. Prior to that he served in the Chicago Police Department for almost 30 years rising to the level of Deputy Superintendent. That background combined with the way the Philly PD has been treating gun owners leads me to believe that Ramsey will be the token witness to testify against HR 822.

Both Joyce Lee Malcolm and Dave Kopel have strong pro-gun credentials.

As Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell notes today, “Let the hysterics begin.” I think we can fully expect more counter-attacks on H.R. 822 by the likes of Mayor Bloomberg, the Brady Campaign, and VPC.

House Judiciary Committee Schedules Hearings On HR 822

The House Judiciary Committee has finally scheduled hearings on HR 822 – the National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.

9/13/2011

Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

10:00 a.m. in the 2141 Rayburn House Office Building

Hearing on: H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011”

By Direction of the Chairman

The bill introduced in February by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) has 242 co-sponsors. The text of the bill and more info can be found here.

The recent campaign by the NRA-ILA to get people to call their Congressman seems to have had an impact. The bill has languished for months now without a hearing. This could also mean there is enough support in the Senate to get it passed this time. If so, it will be interesting to see what will happen if it gets to the President’s desk.

Majority!

Thanks to a Tweat from Sean at A NC Gun blog, I saw that HR 822 – the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act – has now is co-sponsored by a majority of House members as of Friday. HR 308 is still stuck at 107.

Thanks to these Congressmen and Congressmen who pushed the bill up to 227 co-sponsors from the 200 previously reported..

Rep Royce, Edward R. [CA-40] – 5/10/2011
Rep Quayle, Benjamin [AZ-3] – 5/10/2011
Rep Upton, Fred [MI-6] – 5/10/2011
Rep Pitts, Joseph R. [PA-16] – 5/10/2011
Rep Pearce, Stevan [NM-2] – 5/10/2011
Rep Price, Tom [GA-6] – 5/10/2011
Rep Hurt, Robert [VA-5] – 5/10/2011
Rep Blackburn, Marsha [TN-7] – 5/11/2011
Rep Fleischmann, Charles J. “Chuck” [TN-3] – 5/11/2011
Rep Huizenga, Bill [MI-2] – 5/11/2011
Rep Walberg, Tim [MI-7] – 5/11/2011
Rep Issa, Darrell E. [CA-49] – 5/11/2011
Rep Rohrabacher, Dana [CA-46] – 5/11/2011
Rep Campbell, John [CA-48] – 5/11/2011
Rep Nunes, Devin [CA-21] – 5/13/2011
Rep Berg, Rick [ND] – 5/13/2011
Rep Noem, Kristi L. [SD] – 5/13/2011
Rep McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [WA-5] – 5/13/2011
Rep Ribble, Reid J. [WI-8] – 5/13/2011
Rep Ryan, Paul [WI-1] – 5/13/2011
Rep Burgess, Michael C. [TX-26] – 5/13/2011
Rep Shimkus, John [IL-19] – 5/13/2011
Rep Womack, Steve [AR-3] – 5/13/2011
Rep Black, Diane [TN-6] – 5/13/2011
Rep Kingston, Jack [GA-1] – 5/13/2011
Rep Young, C.W. Bill [FL-10] – 5/13/2011
Rep Cardoza, Dennis A. [CA-18] – 5/13/2011

As I said earlier, it is time for the House Judiciary Committee to have hearings on this bill.

Two Hundred!

A mere 37 days after HR 822 – the National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Bill – hit 100 co-sponsors, the bill now has hit 200 co-sponsors. This makes it the third most co-sponsored bill in the House of Representatives. The only bills that have more co-sponsors deal with tax-payer funding of abortion (HR 3) and the repeal of 1099 filing requirements for small business transactions (HR 4).

I attribute the growth in the number of co-sponsors to Representatives hearing from their constituents. If you look at when significant numbers of co-sponsors sign on to the bill, it is usually within a few days after the House has had a break for members to work in their districts or a recess. For example, the Spring Recess was the last two weeks of April and now in the first week of May there are 29 new co-sponsors.

Breaking down the co-sponsors, you find 16 out of the 25 “official” Blue Dog Democrats are listed as co-sponsors. Of the nine remaining Blue Dogs, five are Californians including Adam Schiff and Loretta Sanchez who have always trended anti-gun. There are a number of other non-Blue Dogs Democrats who have always been pro-gun such as John Dingell (former NRA Board member), Larry Kissell (D-NC), and a number of the Democrats in the Mid-West, Mountain West, and Pennsylvania. Then there was Steve Cohen of Memphis who I wrote about yesterday. I can’t figure out his support but I will take it anyway!

I was pleased to see every Republican and three Democrats from North Carolina listed as co-sponsors of the bill. This leaves the four North Carolina Democrats who rarely see an anti-gun bill that they don’t eventually support.

With the amount of support that this bill has garnered, it is a bit disappointing that the leadership of the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security haven’t moved this bill. Maybe if Chairman Lamar Smith and Subcommittee Chair James Sensenbrenner were less concerned with the PATRIOT Act and kiddie porn and were co-sponsors of this bill, we might get some movement towards hearings on this bill.

Below is the list of those who have signed on as co-sponsors to Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. If your congressman is not on this, give him or her a call and ask why not. Do this even if they are ardently anti-gun. I remember something that Colleen Lawson – one of the plaintiffs in McDonald v. Chicago – said to me at the NRA Annual Meeting. She said her Illnois State Representative said she and her husband David were the only two that called his office in support of concealed carry in Illinois. Don’t let that happen here.

Alphabetical with date of becoming a co-sponsor

Rep Adams, Sandy [FL-24] – 3/8/2011
Rep Aderholt, Robert B. [AL-4] – 3/29/2011
Rep Akin, W. Todd [MO-2] – 4/13/2011
Rep Alexander, Rodney [LA-5] – 4/7/2011
Rep Altmire, Jason [PA-4] – 3/16/2011
Rep Austria, Steve [OH-7] – 4/14/2011
Rep Baca, Joe [CA-43] – 4/15/2011
Rep Bachmann, Michele [MN-6] – 3/2/2011
Rep Bachus, Spencer [AL-6] – 3/8/2011
Rep Barletta, Lou [PA-11] – 4/13/2011
Rep Barrow, John [GA-12] – 4/13/2011
Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6] – 4/13/2011
Rep Barton, Joe [TX-6] – 3/2/2011
Rep Bass, Charles F. [NH-2] – 5/2/2011
Rep Benishek, Dan [MI-1] – 3/3/2011
Rep Bilbray, Brian P. [CA-50] – 4/15/2011
Rep Bilirakis, Gus M. [FL-9] – 3/11/2011
Rep Bishop, Rob [UT-1] – 4/7/2011
Rep Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. [GA-2] – 3/3/2011
Rep Bonner, Jo [AL-1] – 4/8/2011
Rep Boren, Dan [OK-2] – 3/2/2011
Rep Boswell, Leonard L. [IA-3] – 3/2/2011
Rep Boustany, Charles W., Jr. [LA-7] – 4/14/2011
Rep Brady, Kevin [TX-8] – 4/5/2011
Rep Brooks, Mo [AL-5] – 4/5/2011
Rep Broun, Paul C. [GA-10] – 4/8/2011
Rep Buchanan, Vern [FL-13] – 3/15/2011
Rep Bucshon, Larry [IN-8] – 4/13/2011
Rep Burton, Dan [IN-5] – 3/2/2011
Rep Camp, Dave [MI-4] – 4/4/2011
Rep Canseco, Francisco “Quico” [TX-23] – 3/8/2011
Rep Capito, Shelley Moore [WV-2] – 4/7/2011
Rep Carter, John R. [TX-31] – 3/2/2011
Rep Chabot, Steve [OH-1] – 4/13/2011
Rep Chaffetz, Jason [UT-3] – 3/3/2011
Rep Chandler, Ben [KY-6] – 4/13/2011
Rep Coble, Howard [NC-6] – 5/6/2011
Rep Coffman, Mike [CO-6] – 3/2/2011
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] – 5/2/2011
Rep Cole, Tom [OK-4] – 3/2/2011
Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11] – 4/5/2011
Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] – 3/11/2011
Rep Cravaack, Chip [MN-8] – 4/15/2011
Rep Crawford, Eric A. “Rick” [AR-1] – 5/3/2011
Rep Crenshaw, Ander [FL-4] – 3/15/2011
Rep Critz, Mark S. [PA-12] – 3/17/2011
Rep Cuellar, Henry [TX-28] – 4/14/2011
Rep Culberson, John Abney [TX-7] – 4/14/2011
Rep Davis, Geoff [KY-4] – 3/3/2011
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4] – 4/14/2011
Rep Denham, Jeff [CA-19] – 4/4/2011
Rep Dent, Charles W. [PA-15] – 3/16/2011
Rep DesJarlais, Scott [TN-4] – 4/14/2011
Rep Diaz-Balart, Mario [FL-21] – 3/2/2011
Rep Dingell, John D. [MI-15] – 4/15/2011
Rep Donnelly, Joe [IN-2] – 4/13/2011
Rep Duncan, Jeff [SC-3] – 3/29/2011
Rep Duncan, John J., Jr. [TN-2] – 3/2/2011
Rep Ellmers, Renee L. [NC-2] – 4/5/2011
Rep Emerson, Jo Ann [MO-8] – 3/8/2011
Rep Farenthold, Blake [TX-27] – 4/14/2011
Rep Fitzpatrick, Michael G. [PA-8] – 4/13/2011
Rep Fleming, John [LA-4] – 3/11/2011
Rep Flores, Bill [TX-17] – 4/5/2011
Rep Forbes, J. Randy [VA-4] – 3/29/2011
Rep Foxx, Virginia [NC-5] – 3/8/2011
Rep Franks, Trent [AZ-2] – 3/30/2011
Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5] – 3/2/2011
Rep Gibbs, Bob [OH-18] – 3/15/2011
Rep Gibson, Christopher P. [NY-20] – 3/2/2011
Rep Gingrey, Phil [GA-11] – 3/2/2011
Rep Goodlatte, Bob [VA-6] – 5/2/2011
Rep Gosar, Paul A. [AZ-1] – 5/2/2011
Rep Gowdy, Trey [SC-4] – 5/6/2011
Rep Granger, Kay [TX-12] – 3/3/2011
Rep Graves, Sam [MO-6] – 3/2/2011
Rep Graves, Tom [GA-9] – 5/2/2011
Rep Green, Gene [TX-29] – 3/10/2011
Rep Griffin, Tim [AR-2] – 5/2/2011
Rep Griffith, H. Morgan [VA-9] – 3/15/2011
Rep Guinta, Frank C. [NH-1] – 4/5/2011
Rep Guthrie, Brett [KY-2] – 4/13/2011
Rep Hall, Ralph M. [TX-4] – 3/3/2011
Rep Hanna, Richard L. [NY-24] – 4/15/2011
Rep Harper, Gregg [MS-3] – 4/14/2011
Rep Harris, Andy [MD-1] – 3/10/2011
Rep Hartzler, Vicky [MO-4] – 5/5/2011
Rep Heck, Joseph J. [NV-3] – 3/30/2011
Rep Heinrich, Martin [NM-1] – 3/3/2011
Rep Heller, Dean [NV-2] – 3/2/2011
Rep Hensarling, Jeb [TX-5] – 3/30/2011
Rep Herger, Wally [CA-2] – 3/3/2011
Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17] – 3/3/2011
Rep Huelskamp, Tim [KS-1] – 3/2/2011
Rep Hultgren, Randy [IL-14] – 5/2/2011
Rep Hunter, Duncan D. [CA-52] – 3/29/2011
Rep Jenkins, Lynn [KS-2] – 3/8/2011
Rep Johnson, Bill [OH-6] – 4/13/2011
Rep Johnson, Sam [TX-3] – 3/14/2011
Rep Johnson, Timothy V. [IL-15] – 3/3/2011
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3] – 4/7/2011
Rep Jordan, Jim [OH-4] – 3/11/2011
Rep Kelly, Mike [PA-3] – 4/8/2011
Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3] – 4/13/2011
Rep Kinzinger, Adam [IL-11] – 3/14/2011
Rep Kissell, Larry [NC-8] – 3/3/2011
Rep Kline, John [MN-2] – 3/8/2011
Rep Labrador, Raul R. [ID-1] – 5/2/2011
Rep Lamborn, Doug [CO-5] – 3/2/2011
Rep Landry, Jeffrey M. [LA-3] – 4/13/2011
Rep Lankford, James [OK-5] – 5/2/2011
Rep Larsen, Rick [WA-2] – 5/2/2011
Rep Latham, Tom [IA-4] – 3/8/2011
Rep LaTourette, Steven C. [OH-14] – 4/13/2011
Rep Latta, Robert E. [OH-5] – 3/14/2011
Rep Long, Billy [MO-7] – 4/14/2011
Rep Lucas, Frank D. [OK-3] – 4/4/2011
Rep Luetkemeyer, Blaine [MO-9] – 3/29/2011
Rep Lujan, Ben Ray [NM-3] – 4/8/2011
Rep Mack, Connie [FL-14] – 4/7/2011
Rep Marchant, Kenny [TX-24] – 4/5/2011
Rep Marino, Tom [PA-10] – 4/15/2011
Rep Matheson, Jim [UT-2] – 4/14/2011
Rep McCaul, Michael T. [TX-10] – 4/14/2011
Rep McClintock, Tom [CA-4] – 5/2/2011
Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11] – 3/8/2011
Rep McHenry, Patrick T. [NC-10] – 5/2/2011
Rep McIntyre, Mike [NC-7] – 3/8/2011
Rep McKinley, David B. [WV-1] – 4/4/2011
Rep Mica, John L. [FL-7] – 3/3/2011
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] – 4/14/2011
Rep Miller, Candice S. [MI-10] – 3/16/2011
Rep Miller, Gary G. [CA-42] – 3/3/2011
Rep Miller, Jeff [FL-1] – 3/2/2011
Rep Mulvaney, Mick [SC-5] – 3/8/2011
Rep Murphy, Tim [PA-18] – 4/5/2011
Rep Myrick, Sue Wilkins [NC-9] – 5/2/2011
Rep Neugebauer, Randy [TX-19] – 4/14/2011
Rep Nugent, Richard [FL-5] – 3/17/2011
Rep Nunnelee, Alan [MS-1] – 5/2/2011
Rep Olson, Pete [TX-22] – 4/13/2011
Rep Owens, William L. [NY-23] – 3/2/2011
Rep Palazzo, Steven M. [MS-4] – 3/15/2011
Rep Pence, Mike [IN-6] – 3/2/2011
Rep Peterson, Collin C. [MN-7] – 3/3/2011
Rep Petri, Thomas E. [WI-6] – 3/8/2011
Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19] – 3/29/2011
Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] – 3/29/2011
Rep Pompeo, Mike [KS-4] – 3/17/2011
Rep Posey, Bill [FL-15] – 3/3/2011
Rep Rahall, Nick J., II [WV-3] – 3/3/2011
Rep Reed, Tom [NY-29] – 4/4/2011
Rep Rehberg, Denny [MT] – 4/8/2011
Rep Renacci, James B. [OH-16] – 5/2/2011
Rep Rigell, E. Scott [VA-2] – 5/3/2011
Rep Rivera, David [FL-25] – 3/11/2011
Rep Roby, Martha [AL-2] – 5/3/2011
Rep Roe, David P. [TN-1] – 4/14/2011
Rep Rogers, Harold [KY-5] – 5/5/2011
Rep Rogers, Mike D. [AL-3] – 3/2/2011
Rep Rogers, Mike J. [MI-8] – 3/14/2011
Rep Rokita, Todd [IN-4] – 5/5/2011
Rep Rooney, Thomas J. [FL-16] – 4/7/2011
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] – 4/8/2011
Rep Ross, Dennis [FL-12] – 3/11/2011
Rep Ross, Mike [AR-4] – 3/2/2011
Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] – 4/4/2011
Rep Scalise, Steve [LA-1] – 3/29/2011
Rep Schilling, Robert T. [IL-17] – 4/14/2011
Rep Schmidt, Jean [OH-2] – 3/2/2011
Rep Schock, Aaron [IL-18] – 3/29/2011
Rep Schweikert, David [AZ-5] – 4/15/2011
Rep Scott, Austin [GA-8] – 5/5/2011
Rep Scott, Tim [SC-1] – 5/2/2011
Rep Sessions, Pete [TX-32] – 4/7/2011
Rep Shuler, Heath [NC-11] – 2/18/2011
Rep Shuster, Bill [PA-9] – 4/4/2011
Rep Smith, Adrian [NE-3] – 4/14/2011
Rep Southerland, Steve [FL-2] – 5/5/2011
Rep Stivers, Steve [OH-15] – 4/13/2011
Rep Stutzman, Marlin A. [IN-3] – 5/6/2011
Rep Sullivan, John [OK-1] – 3/29/2011
Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] – 3/30/2011
Rep Thompson, Glenn [PA-5] – 4/5/2011
Rep Thornberry, Mac [TX-13] – 3/16/2011
Rep Tiberi, Patrick J. [OH-12] – 3/16/2011
Rep Tipton, Scott [CO-3] – 5/2/2011
Rep Turner, Michael R. [OH-3] – 3/8/2011
Rep Walden, Greg [OR-2] – 5/2/2011
Rep Walsh, Joe [IL-8] – 4/15/2011
Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1] – 3/29/2011
Rep West, Allen B. [FL-22] – 3/3/2011
Rep Westmoreland, Lynn A. [GA-3] – 3/2/2011
Rep Whitfield, Ed [KY-1] – 4/14/2011
Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] – 3/8/2011
Rep Wittman, Robert J. [VA-1] – 3/10/2011
Rep Wolf, Frank R. [VA-10] – 3/30/2011
Rep Yoder, Kevin [KS-3] – 4/8/2011
Rep Young, Don [AK] – 3/2/2011
Rep Young, Todd C. [IN-9] – 3/30/2011