Stearns, Boucher co-sponsor national reciprocity measure

[Guest jackdog]

Stearns, Boucher co-sponsor national reciprocity measure

by Dave Workman

Senior Editor

While gun rights activists have been bracing for an onslaught of anti-gun legislation with Democrats in charge on Capitol Hill and the White House, two pro-gun congressmen have introduced a bi-partisan bill that calls for nationwide recognition and reciprocity of state-issued concealed carry licenses.

HR-197, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 sponsored by Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Rick Boucher (D-VA), would require states to recognize the licenses and permits issued by other states. In states where no concealed carry statute exists—Illinois and Wisconsin—non-residents licensed to carry in their home states would still be able to pack a pistol, with some areas being prohibited. Carry license holders would be subject to the regulations of the host state, not those of their home state.

The bill has already garnered the support of John Snyder, public affairs director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA). He has called on other members of Congress to sign on as co-sponsors.

This is not the first time such legislation has been proposed.

Currently, all but two states have some type of concealed carry legislation on the books. The majority of those states have adopted so-called shall issue statutes that require permits to be issued to any citizen who passes a background check and meets other standardized requirements. Police chiefs or sheriffs have no discretion in deciding who gets a carry license. This is a cornerstone tenet of such laws because of past abuses in the issuance of those permits.

President Barack Obama is on record opposing concealed carry, but since taking office, he has remained silent on the issue. Almost a year ago, on the campaign trail, he told the Pittsburgh, PA, Tribune Review that he did not support concealed carry. At the time, his remarks drew harsh reaction from CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, who demanded a public apology to the millions of law-abiding Americans currently licensed to carry across the country.

Many states currently have reciprocity agreements with other states regarding concealed carry licenses, and a couple have adopted blanket recognition statutes. The Stearns-Boucher measure would moot such statutes by making concealed carry licenses essentially equal to drivers’ licenses, recognized in all 50 states.

Writing about his bill in an opinion piece that was published by Human Events in January, Stearns noted, “(S)ince adopting a concealed carry law Florida’s total violent crime rate has dropped 32% and its homicide rate has dropped 58%. Floridians, except for criminals, are safer due to this law. And Florida is not alone. Texas’ violent crime rate has dropped 20% and homicide rate has dropped 31%, since enactment of its 1996 carry law.

“Statistics from the FBI’s Uniformed Crime Report of 2007 show that states with right-to-carry laws have a 30% lower homicide rate, 46% lower robbery, and 12% lower aggravated assault rate and a 22% lower overall violent crime rate than do states without such laws,†he added. “That is why more and more states have passed right-to-carry laws over the past decade.â€

Gun Week reported in its Feb. 1 edition that fewer police officers were slain last year despite a sharp increase in the number of concealed carry licenses issued around the country. The number of police killed by gunfire last year dropped 40% from 2007, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Bolstering this report, Stearns wrote, “So many liberal politicians and self-appointed experts want to keep honest Americans from having access to firearms, even though, since 2003, in states which allow concealed carry, violent crime rates have been lower than anytime since the mid-1970s.â€

He told a newspaper in Ocala that his prime motivation for sponsoring this national carry legislation is to give American citizens a “fighting chance†when confronted by violent criminals.

Congress has already passed legislation that allows retired and active-duty law enforcement officers to carry concealed all over the country while on vacation, and this legislation would expand that ability to all private citizens. There is no indication from law enforcement groups whether they will support the Stearns-Boucher legislation, although police groups did appeal for public support for their earlier national carry legislation.

The bill is being opposed by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which discounts all of Stearns’ statistical data. <hr> This article is provided free by GunWeek.com.

For more great gun news, subscribe to our print edition.

[NuTcAsE]

If a state that has passed a tenth amendmet bill says no, then what? Just asking...

[Guest HexHead]

First I don't see it passing both houses of Congress, then I can about guarandamntee you Obama would veto it. He's been pretty vocal in the past about being against carry permits period.