NRA-ILA

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NRA-ILA On Illinois Governor’s Proposed AWB

August 2, 2012 by

The NRA-ILA released a harsh and detailed response yesterday to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s amendatory veto of Senate Bill 681. You can read it below:

Gov. Quinn uses a previously NRA-Backed Ammunition Purchase Reform Bill as Vehicle for Gun Ban

Yesterday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) vetoed the NRA-backed ammunition purchase reform bill, Senate Bill 681, after this common sense legislation had passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Illinois legislature (previously reported on here). In a crass attempt to exploit the recent tragedy in Colorado and seek media attention, Quinn used his Amendatory Veto powers in a foolhardy attempt to impose more draconian gun control in Illinois. Quinn rewrote the entire bill as an amendment to the Illinois Criminal Code that includes an onerous ban on the manufacture, possession, delivery or sale of commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms (inaccurately referred to as “assault weapons”), .50 caliber rifles and cartridges and “high capacity” magazines in Illinois. Quinn’s amendment additionally tramples on the rights of Illinois citizens by creating a de facto statewide registration scheme for currently-owned firearms and magazines.

If this amendment is accepted by the Illinois General Assembly, law-abiding citizens in Illinois will be subjected to restrictions far beyond the scope of even the misguided Clinton Federal “Assault Weapons“ Ban that expired in 2004 and any other in existence in the country today. The repercussions of such a gun ban would be disastrous. As demonstrated by the failure of the assault weapon ban of 1994-2004 to produce the crime-reducing results proponents claimed it would, Quinn’s ban would do nothing to increase safety in Illinois and would only further restrict the rights of already law-abiding citizens throughout the state.

Using the well-worn anti-gun tactic of confusion, by conflating certain popular semi-automatic firearms with machine guns by using the term “assault weapon,” this legislation targets many of the most popular guns used for hunting and competition, as well as many models and magazines (those that hold more than ten rounds) used for self-defense. Banned items would include many familiar and popular firearms, such as:

  • Turkey hunting shotguns with pistol grips, like the Benelli Super Black Eagle II;
  • Plinking and target rifles with thumbhole stocks, as often seen on customized Ruger 10/22s;
  • High-power target rifles — even including the 1994-2004 versions of rifles like the M1A and AR-15 that were made to comply with the now-expired federal ban — because all of those rifles had handguards that “encircle” the barrel;
  • Any detachable-magazine semi-automatic rifle with even a partial handguard, potentially including common hunting rifles like the popular Remington 740/7400 series, Browning BAR, and many more like them.


This gun ban would even apply to the individual parts themselves (stocks, pistol grips, handguards, folding or telescoping stocks, etc). Possession, manufacture, delivery or sale of any of these items would be a felony.

Worse yet, this amended bill would impose a massive statewide gun registration scheme. Anyone who already possesses one of the banned guns or parts would have to provide proof of ownership and register each one with the State Police within ninety days of the effective date. This registration requirement spans from the firearm itself to individual parts and magazines that fall under the ban.

Governor Quinn and his band of anti-gun Chicago politicians would like to see their vicious attack on the Second Amendment play out across Illinois, even as Chicago—with the state’s most restrictive gun laws—is on track to tally more than 500 murders this year.

The repercussions of such a gun ban would actually be just the opposite of what proponents claim and the results would be disastrous. Firearms manufacturing is estimated to be a $250 million dollar industry in Illinois. Not only would this gun ban be devastating to law-abiding citizens in Illinois, it also would wreak havoc on an entire industry, killing jobs and driving a healthy contributor to the Illinois economy out of state. This legislation in no way promotes the safety or well-being of Illinois citizens, but is merely another attempt by gun-hating Chicago politicians to use misinformation to push draconian gun bans that will only affect gun owners, sportsmen and law-abiding citizens concerned about self-defense.

Your Action Is Needed! The Illinois General Assembly will reconvene on August 17th for their special session, and could vote on the Governor’s amendment to Senate Bill 681. Contact your state legislators TODAY and demand they oppose the Governor’s gun ban!

Contact information for all state legislators can be found by clicking here.

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Chris Cox On The Arms Trade Treaty

July 12, 2012 by 1 Comment

Ginny Simone of NRA News interviewed Chris Cox, head of the NRA-ILA, about the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty yesterday. This interview was after Wayne LaPierre spoke to the delegates of the ATT talks and presented the NRA’s position.

Chris made some good points in this interview. Perhaps the best was when he said that “our freedoms shouldn’t be dumbed down to an international standard; the truth is that international standards need to be brought up to United States (levels).” Given that the ATT has countries like Iran in a leadership role I don’t see this happening. That said, Chris is correct.

Another important point that Chris made was that treaties hang around forever until such time as there is a President and Senate willing to ratify it. Unlike a bill passed in one house of Congress that dies at the end of that Congressional session if the other house doesn’t pass it, an international treaty hangs around like a Zombie.

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NRA-ILA On NC General Assembly Short Session

July 7, 2012 by

The NRA Institute for Legislative Affairs released a Legislative Alert this evening that summarized the wins – and losses – for gun rights in the “short session” of the North Carolina General Assembly. Their conclusion that this session fell short is on the mark given the bottling-up of HB 111 in the committee by the Republican leadership of the State Senate. The failure to pass HB 111 is one thing that cannot be blamed on the Democrats as the votes to pass this bill were there.

The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on Tuesday, July 3, bringing an end to the “short session” of the 2011-2012 General Assembly. While the General Assembly made tremendous improvements for the pro-gun community during last year’s “long session”, the same cannot be said for their accomplishments in this year’s session. Raleigh did see passage of one pro-gun bill this year, however, another important piece of firearms legislation remained stalled in a Senate committee, which effectively killed that bill.

Unfortunately for gun owners, House Bill 111, which included language that would have removed the absolute prohibition on Right to Carry (RTC) permit holders carrying a concealed firearm into a restaurant licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption, remained stalled in the state Senate this year despite passing the state House of Representatives last session. As reported here, this bill passed in the Senate Judiciary II Committee in early June, but was never brought to the Senate floor for consideration. The committee did use HB 111 to address an issue relating to the section of last year’s House Bill 650 (reported on here) that imposed restrictions on prohibiting RTC permit holders from carrying firearms in parks under the control of local governments. Because some local governments have gone beyond what HB 650 allowed, HB 111 was amended to impose tighter restrictions on these localities. If it had been enacted, this bill would have, along with providing for Restaurant Carry, clarified that local governments are restricted from prohibiting lawfully carried concealed firearms in such places as greenways, designated biking or walking paths, certain open areas and fields, as well as other areas. With HB 111 not passing, an important opportunity to advance the rights of law-abiding gun owners was missed.

On a more positive note, this session the General Assembly passed and Governor Perdue signed into law House Bill 843, which recognized law-abiding citizens’ right to self-defense during a declared state of emergency. Specifically, H 843 states that the restrictions section of the North Carolina Emergency Management Act “does not authorize prohibitions or restrictions on lawfully possessed firearms or ammunition.” This means that, if there is a declared state of emergency due to natural disasters or other problems that create a state of disarray and unrest that requires emergency procedures to be implemented by a government entity, the rights of law-abiding gun owners will no longer be subject to possible suspension, as previous law allowed.

The win in Bateman forced the exclusion on restrictions on firearms in HB 843. While it was nice that it was put down on paper, I believe Judge Howard’s decision would have invalidated existing restrictions.

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NRA Will Score Contempt Vote On Holder

June 20, 2012 by 1 Comment

In a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Chris Cox of the NRA-ILA indicated that the NRA will be using the vote on the contempt citation for Eric Holder to evaluate candidates. They also said that they support the contempt citation for Holder.

The American people – including millions of NRA members and tens of millions of NRA supporters – deserve the truth about these issues, and we will support any effort that leads us to that truth. This is an issue of utmost seriousness and the NRA will consider this vote in future candidate evaluations.

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NRA-ILA Weighs In On HB 111

June 14, 2012 by

The NRA-ILA released this yesterday along with a call for members to call their State Senator and push for passage.

House Bill 111, legislation which would provide for restaurant carry, is currently awaiting action in the state Senate Finance Committee. HB 111 passed in the Senate Judiciary II Committee on June 6 by a voice vote.

HB 111 would allow law-abiding gun owners who have a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) to carry a concealed firearm into most restaurants that serve alcohol for on-premises consumption, as long as no alcohol is consumed by the individual carrying the firearm. Currently, 44 states allow for the lawful carrying of concealed firearms into restaurants where alcohol is served. Passage and enactment of this bill is critical to ensure North Carolina’s place among the vast majority of the states in trusting law-abiding permit holders to exercise their rights responsibly in these places.

In addition, HB 111 amends state law enacted last year in House Bill 650 (previously reported on here) that imposed restrictions on prohibiting CHP holders from carrying firearms in parks under the control of local governments. Because some municipalities have gone beyond what HB 650 allowed, HB 111 was amended to impose tighter restrictions on local governments. If enacted, this bill would restrict localities from prohibiting lawfully carried concealed firearms in such places as greenways, designated biking or walking paths, certain open areas and fields, as well as other areas.

The head of the Senate Finance Committee, Buck Newton, stated in a radio interview yesterday that it would only take about 15 minutes of their time to get it out of committee. I strongly suggest that they take that 15 minutes and get this done.

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NRA-ILA On Scott Walker’s Win In Wisconsin

June 6, 2012 by 1 Comment

Chris Cox and the NRA-ILA are celebrating what looks to be an overwhelming victory by Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin recall election. They released this statement a short while ago.

Thanks to your votes and efforts, Scott Walker has won the recall election for Governor in Wisconsin defeating rabidly anti-gun Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Scott Walker has proven his dedication to the Second Amendment by signing into law right-to-carry legislation, castle doctrine legislation, and the Hunting Heritage Act during his short tenure as Wisconsin’s chief executive. Scott Walker also supported statewide preemption of firearm laws and an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution guaranteeing the individual right to keep and bear arms. In contrast, Tom Barrett has a career-long “F” rating from NRA-PVF and has supported bans on commonly owned firearms, supported exposing hunters to prosecution, and has consistently opposed common sense self-defense legislation.

Your NRA was fully vested in this race with a comprehensive campaign that included tens of millions of online ads and hundreds of thousands of television, radio and print ads before today’s recall election. The media campaign was also supplemented by a concentrated advocacy and get-out-the-vote phone and mail program. All-in-all, almost two million pieces of advocacy mail were sent and phone calls made in this remarkable victory for freedom.

The NRA’s media campaign was complemented with a strong grassroots effort, utilizing field coordinators to conduct literature drops, canvassing and volunteer efforts across the state in the months before the election.

Together we made a difference in this race. But, as always, what mattered most in this race was your vote. Thanks to gun owners in Wisconsin, one of the strongest pro-gun Governors in the country will continue working to support our fundamental, individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

I bet the managers of those two Gander Mountain stores which refused to let the NRA-ILA hold their previously scheduled grassroots training sessions are feeling a little stupid right now. I still plan to shop elsewhere given Gander Mountain’s actions.

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NRA Responds To VPC’s Misleading Research

May 27, 2012 by 3 Comments

While it may be giving the Violence Policy Center more attention than it deserves, I think the NRA-ILA had to respond to the misleading research regarding “gun deaths” versus deaths by motor vehicle. As Tom Gresham continually points out about his Truth Squad project, a lie left unchallenged becomes the truth for many people. The NRA-ILA’s post on the subject entitled “Dust Off the Old Stuff–VPC Tries to Revive ‘Guns and Cars’ and ‘Consumer Products’ Nonsense” was published on Friday.

In the 1990s, it was common for anti-gun activists to predict that firearm-related deaths–suicides, murders, self-defense shootings by private citizens, shootings by law enforcement officers, and accidents combined–would soon outnumber motor vehicle accident deaths.

It was also common for them to demand that the design and manufacture of firearms be subject to the Consumer Products Safety Commission or the Bureu (sic) of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Their goal was to get handguns banned by setting standards higher than any handgun manufacturer could achieve, at least at a price the market would bear. For example, in 2000, the Violence Policy Center said “Congress should vest the Department of the Treasury [to which BATF belonged at the time] with strong authority to regulate the design, manufacture, and distribution of firearms. Such authority should include the ability to remove from the market firearms that pose a serious threat to public health and safety. . . . Products such as three-wheel ATVs and lawn darts had related death rates microscopic in comparison to handguns, but were nevertheless banned.”

To anti-gun activists’ dismay, the closest that motor vehicle accidents came to accounting for fewer deaths than all five categories of firearm-related deaths combined was in 1993, when firearm-related deaths hit an all-time high, one year after motor vehicle accident deaths fell to their lowest point since 1962. But even then, motor vehicle accidents accounted for 2,298 more deaths than all categories of firearm-related deaths combined.

Fast forward to the present. This week, the VPC claimed that in 2009, firearm-related deaths outnumbered motor vehicle accident deaths in 10 states. It said, “Motor vehicle deaths are on the decline as the result of a successful decades-long public health-based injury prevention strategy that includes safety-related changes to vehicles and highway design informed by comprehensive data collection and analysis. Meanwhile, firearms are the only consumer product not regulated by the federal government for health and safety.”

That’s baloney, of course. The reason that anti-gun activists dropped their “cars and guns” propaganda more than a decade ago is that after 1993, motor vehicle accident deaths began increasing sharply, despite massive government regulation of vehicles, drivers and roads, while deaths involving firearms began decreasing. So great did the disparity between the two trends eventually become, that by 2004 there were 15,364 more motor vehicle accident deaths than all firearm-related deaths combined.

VPC knows that, but it brought up “cars and guns” this week anyway, for a couple of reasons.

First, cranking out “analyses” that insult the intelligence of a fence post is what the Joyce Foundation pays the VPC to do.

Second, with people driving less–due in large part to the lack of jobs and high gasoline prices–deaths from motor vehicle accidents dropped from 43,945 in 2007 (the year before the economic recession began) to 36,216 in 2009 (the last year for which national data have been reported). In the 10 states on VPC’s list, decreases ranged from 6.1 percent in Colorado to 37.6 percent in Nevada.

Nationally, firearm-related deaths remained fairly steady, at 31,224 in 2007 and 31,347 in 2009, with decreases in homicides and accidents. But firearm and non-firearm suicides, each of which accounts for half of suicides, both increased from 2007 to 2009. Suicides account for nearly 60 percent of firearm-related deaths, and between 2007 and 2009 firearm suicides increased in nine of the 10 states on VPC’s list.

Of course, it’s pointless to compare vehicle accident statistics to those for the aggregate of five categories of firearm-related deaths. There’s little similarity between motor vehicle accidents and firearm accidents, and none whatsoever between vehicle accidents and firearm suicides and homicides. For example, more than 90 percent of people who commit suicide suffer from depression, other mental disorders, and/or a substance-abuse disorder. Other risk factors for suicide include a prior suicide attempt or a family history of mental disorder, substance abuse, suicide or family violence. There is also evidence suggesting that suicides can be instigated by news media coverage of suicides and by exposure to suicide themes in literature and entertainment. By contrast, risk factors for motor vehicle accidents include excessive speed, fatigue, poor eyesight and ambient conditions limiting visibility, travelling in darkness and bad weather, mechanically unsound vehicles, and defects in road design and maintenance.

Since we’re on the subject of motor vehicle accidents, let’s all remember to be especially safe on the roads over the Memorial Day Weekend. Next week, with the holiday behind us, there will be plenty of time to remember how full of beans anti-gun activists can be.

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NRA-ILA’s John Frazier Fisks Car Deaths Vs. Gun Deaths Report

May 25, 2012 by

John Frazer, NRA-ILA Director of Research & Information, spoke with Cam Edwards yesterday about the report from the Violence Policy Center that purported that “gun deaths” outnumbered those from motor vehicle in some ten states. He notes that accidental deaths are at a low which was not reported.

As to the non-critical reports in many media outlets around the country, he suggests pointing out the fallacies in the report in letters to the editor or comments on the site.

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NRA-ILA On Wilson V. Cook County

April 6, 2012 by 2 Comments

The NRA-ILA released this statement on today’s unanimous ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court that reversed in part an Illinois appellate court ruling on the Cook County Blair Holt Assault Weapons Ban and remanded it back to the trial court level.

Fairfax, Va. – Today, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously denied an attempt by Cook County, Ill., to dismiss a challenge to the county’s California-style ban on countless types of common semi-automatic firearms. The National Rifle Association supported the case brought by the NRA’s state affiliate, the Illinois State Rifle Association.

“We are very pleased with this ruling,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Today’s decision makes clear that the lower courts shouldn’t take challenges to these laws lightly and that plaintiffs deserve a full opportunity for their evidence to be heard.”

In today’s decision, the court reversed a lower appellate court’s ruling that upheld the ban merely because it was supposedly similar to bans that had been upheld elsewhere. But of the three cases cited by the lower court, two relied on “facts” provided in legislative findings and testimony by anti-gun legislators and gun ban lobbyists; the third involved a challenge to federal regulation of fully automatic machine guns, rather than semi-automatic firearms.

Adopting a much more rigorous approach, the Illinois Supreme Court found it couldn’t say the guns banned by Cook County “categorically fall outside the scope of the rights protected by the [Second Amendment].” Therefore, the case will be returned to the trial court for more fact-finding.

Key to the final outcome will be evidence that the guns in question are “in common use” and “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,” which are the standards that the U.S. Supreme Court suggested would determine whether a particular type of “arm” falls within the Second Amendment’s protections.

On that issue, the numbers are overwhelming. Based on production statistics published by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, about 3.1 million AR-15 rifles have been made just since 1986, and AR-15s alone made up 4.3 percent of all firearms and 13.3 percent of all rifles sold in the U.S. from 2007 to 2010. The AR-15, of course, is just one of the many firearms banned in Cook County. These figures go to show that Cook County hasn’t just banned “common” guns; it has banned the most popular rifles of our time, used by countless law-abiding Americans for every kind of lawful purpose.

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Nice But Why Not Just Pass HR 822

March 13, 2012 by 14 Comments

Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Mike Crapo (R-ID) have introduced the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012. According to the press releases (see below), it is similar to HR 822 which passed the House of Representatives on November 16, 2011 on a 272-154 rollcall vote. That bill is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee awaiting hearings.

The text of the Senate bill is not yet available on the Library of Congress’s website. I have to assume that it is very similar – if not exactly the same – to what was passed in the House. A bill passed in the House does not need a similar bill introduced in the Senate though it is common practice. Given that, would not it just be easier to work with the bill that has already passed one house of Congress? To my way of thinking it provides less chance of having to reconcile vastly differing bills in a conference committee where the final bill could be watered down to merely a feel-good measure.

That said, this bill does have the endorsement of the NRA. If giving some pro-gun Democrats cover is the price we need to pay, I can live with that.

From Begich’s press release:

In an effort to remove burdensome red tape that hampers the ability of legal concealed carry permit holders to carry concealed firearms into other states that allow them, a bi-partisan group of Senators has introduced the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012. A similar bill passed the House last year with a vote of 272-164.

The Senate bill, endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), is sponsored by Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).

Under the legislation, an individual with a valid ID and concealed carry permit would be allowed to carry a concealed handgun into any state that has a statute permitting residents to carry concealed firearms, or that does not explicitly prohibit them.

The legislation also says an individual who is ineligible for a concealed carry permit in his or her state would not be allowed to obtain an out-of-state permit in a state with less restrictive eligibility requirements in order to use that permit in his or her own state.

“I’m leading the effort to provide consistency so law-abiding gun owners can carry concealed firearms in every state that permits them without having to navigate confusing rules and regulations in different states,” Begich said. “The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right and part of who we are as Alaskans and Americans. This bill is one more step in my ongoing efforts to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”

“This common sense legislation would cut down on the layers of regulations facing law-abiding Americans who have the right to own guns and use them responsibly,” Manchin said. “If we can streamline and simplify some of our rules governing gun ownership, everybody wins – especially the 65,000 West Virginians who hold concealed carry permits.”

“This legislation respects the rights of law-abiding citizens by allowing them to defend themselves across state lines,” Crapo said. “Most importantly, they would still have to comply with all the firearms laws of the state in which they travel. The act facilitates the ability of states to design a system for concealed-carrier firearms in a fair way, while protecting the rights of states to honor all of their firearms laws.”

The executive director for the NRA’s Institute for Legislation Action, Chris Cox, praised the Senators for introducing the bill and said it is critical to protect Second Amendment rights.

“Over the last two decades, the NRA has led the way toward a brick-by-brick restoration of self-defense laws throughout the country. National Right-to-Carry reciprocity is yet another step forward for law-abiding Americans,” Cox said. “Citizens aren’t immune to crime when they cross state lines, so it is only reasonable that they have an effective means of protecting themselves and their loved ones while in other states. The NRA thanks Senator Mark Begich for introducing this measure in the U.S. Senate, along with Senators Joe Manchin and Mike Crapo, for their efforts to strengthen self-defense laws in America.”

From Manchin’s press release:

Washington, D.C. — In an effort to remove burdensome red tape that limits the ability of legal concealed carry permit holders to carry concealed firearms into other states that allow them, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has joined a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012.

Under the legislation, an individual with a valid ID and concealed carry permit would be allowed to carry a concealed handgun into any state that allows residents to carry concealed firearms.

“This commonsense legislation would cut down on the layers of regulations facing law-abiding Americans who have the right to own guns and use them responsibly,” Senator Manchin said. “If we can streamline and simplify some of our rules governing gun ownership, everybody wins – especially the 65,000 West Virginians who hold concealed carry permits.”

The legislation also says an individual who is ineligible for a concealed carry permit in his or her state would not be allowed to obtain an out-of-state permit in a state with less restrictive eligibility requirements, and use that permit to carry a concealed handgun in his or her state.

The Senate bill, endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), is also sponsored by Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). A similar bill passed the House last year with a vote of 272-164.

The executive director for the NRA’s Institute for Legislation Action, Chris Cox, praised the Senators for introducing the bill and said it is critical to protect Second Amendment rights.

“Over the last two decades, the NRA has led the way toward a brick-by-brick restoration of self-defense laws throughout the country. National Right-to-Carry reciprocity is yet another step forward for law-abiding Americans,” Cox said. “Citizens aren’t immune to crime when they cross state lines, so it is only reasonable that they have an effective means of protecting themselves and their loved ones while in other states. The NRA thanks Senator Mark Begich for introducing this measure in the U.S. Senate, along with Sens. Joe Manchin and Mike Crapo, and for their efforts to strengthen self-defense laws in America.”

UPDATE: From the NRA on S. 2188 which they say is a companion bill to HR 822.

Fairfax, Va. – Senate Bill 2188, an important self-defense bill that would enable millions of Right-to-Carry permit holders across the country to carry concealed firearms while traveling outside their home states, was introduced in the U.S. Senate today. S. 2188 is the companion legislation to H.R. 822, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on November 16, 2011 by a majority bipartisan vote of 272 to 154.

“Over the last two decades, the NRA has led the way toward a brick-by-brick restoration of self-defense laws throughout the country. National Right-to-Carry reciprocity is yet another step forward for law-abiding Americans,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director for NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Citizens aren’t immune from crime when they cross state lines, so it is only reasonable that they have an effective means of protecting themselves and their loved ones while in other states. The introduction of S. 2188 is a significant step forward in the ongoing effort to improve self-defense laws in this country.”

S. 2188, introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Mark Begich (D-AK) and Joe Manchin III (D-WV), would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed firearm in any other state that issues concealed firearm permits, or does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms for lawful purposes.

This bill does not affect existing state laws. State laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within each state’s borders. S. 2188 does not create a federal licensing system or impose federal standards on state permits; rather, it requires the states to recognize each others’ carry permits, just as they recognize drivers’ licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards.

As of today, 49 states have laws in place that permit their citizens to carry a concealed firearm in some form. Only Illinois and the District of Columbia deny its residents the right to carry concealed firearms outside their homes or businesses for self-defense.

Here is a link to the full text of S. 2188 thanks to Inquisitor (see comments). For comparison, here is a link to the full text of HR 822 as it passed the House of Representatives.