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By Roger J. Katz

The Arbalest Quarrel recently published an article which also appeared here at The Truth About Guns, “Attention All Law Abiding Gun Owners: National Concealed Handgun Reciprocity is in Jeopardy.” And this wasn’t the first time we wrote specifically on this critical subject.

In February 2018, almost ten months ago, we posted an article discussing 115 H.R. 38, “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.” The article is titled, “It’s Time for National Handgun Carry Reciprocity to Secure the Citizen’s Right of Armed Self-Defense, Throughout The Country.” We wondered what the Senate was waiting for in the final days of its session.

We are still asking. Indeed, why has this bill languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee for almost one year? Clearly, passage of this bill is critical to the strengthening of the Second Amendment, consistent with the intention of the Founders of our free republic who codified the natural right of the people to keep and bear arms, in our Bill of Rights. Since January 2017, the Arbalest Quarrel has written over twenty articles dealing with the importance of national handgun carry reciprocity. We invite interested readers to take a look at all of our articles.

We know that the Democratic Party leadership, along with virtually all Congressional Democrats, and particularly those of radical “left,” are adamantly opposed to this bill. The burning $64,000 question, though, is this: Is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also opposed to national handgun carry reciprocity?

If Senator McConnell isn’t opposed to the bill, the effect of his doing nothing to move it along has the same impact as active opposition to it. Ultimately, Senator McConnell, as the Senate Majority Leader, has absolute or virtually absolute control over what bills are acted upon and what bills are not. He wields immense power.

It may be, of course, that Senator McConnell, having sought bipartisan support on this bill and, realizing he was unable to obtain it, has been resigned to simply ignoring it, thereby allowing the bill to lapse of its own accord, without action in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it presently sits. But, what can be more important than our fundamental and unalienable rights and liberties, especially the right of the people to keep and bear arms, for the purpose of self-defense and as the ultimate fail-safe mechanism to prevent tyranny?

If the American people have to wait for conditions to be “right” for passage of national handgun carry reciprocity, we may be waiting until Hell freezes over, especially with so many new radical left elements poised to flex their legislative muscles when the 116th Congress takes over on January 3, 2019. That is why it is necessary to fast-track the Senate bill on this without further delay, so it can be sent to President Trump for his signature before the lame-duck Senate adjourns for the Christmas holiday.

If the lame-duck Senate does not act at once, all unfinished business of the 115th Congress remains unfinished—dead—until or unless any pending bill of the previous, 115th Congress, is reintroduced in the 116th Congress, when Congressional business starts anew.

Once the 116th Congress commences business in January 2019, however, you can forget about passage of national handgun carry reciprocity and you can forget about passage of any other bill that serves to strengthen the Second Amendment. For, if there is one thing Congressional Democrats—who will seat a majority in the the House of Representatives—will focus their energies on, apart from continuing their effort to undermine President Trump, and apart from their singular objective to open our Southern border to thousands, more, of illegal aliens, it is their single-minded desire and goal to weaken the Second Amendment. And, they seek to accomplish that through federal statute, to the point that the right embodied in the Second Amendment becomes essentially non-existent.

The newly reconfirmed Democratic Party House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will never allow national handgun carry reciprocity, or any other pro-Second Amendment bill, to make it to the floor of the House for a vote. And, if for some reason Pelosi, were to allow debate and a roll-call vote, it would only happen if she knew the bill would fail and thought the vote would damage her political opponents.

Time is therefore of the essence. If we are to see national handgun carry reciprocity, the Senate must act promptly on the bill that passed the House under Speaker Paul Ryan,and is suspended in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

AmmoLand Shooting Sports News and The Truth About Guns posted our article calling for Americans to urge the Senate to act on the bill the Senate has been sitting on for almost a year. And it is a top story. The Arbalest Quarrel continues to reach out to Pro-Second Amendment organizations and to responsible social media and news sources to mount a last-ditch grass-roots effort for passage of the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.”

Over the past few days, we have made substantial progress and hope remains. We trust that thousands of American citizens have responded to our plea and have made calls to Senators Mitch McConnell and Charles Grassley, and that they have contacted NRA and the White House, too. And we know that thousands of Americans who cherish their sacred Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms have responded with their views and comments on Pro-Second Amendment websites and social media to get the word out.

Your message to Senate Republicans should be clear and clearly expressed: “If you want my vote, pass national concealed handgun carry reciprocity now!” “Votes” are one thing that all politicians know well and are sensitive to.

The Arbalest Quarrel is doing its part. The President of the Arbalest Quarrel, Stephen L. D’Andrilli, sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence, asking him to urge President Trump to call the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell and urge him to hold a full Senate roll-call vote on the bill, before the Senate adjourns for the holiday, and the business of the 115th Congress ends.

The content of that letter is as follows:

November 27, 2018 via FedEx Priority Overnight

The Vice President of the United States The White House
Office of the Vice President
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20500

Re: National Concealed Handgun Carry Reciprocity

Dear Mr. Vice President:

I had the distinct honor and privilege of meeting and talking with you at the 2014 annual convention of the NRA, in Indianapolis, and, once again, a year later, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, where you were a guest speaker at the New York Meeting. This coming April 2019, I will be attending the NRA Convention that will be held once again in Indianapolis.

I am aware that a central plank of the Democratic Party leadership is directed to destruction of the Second Amendment-the surest path to tyranny if the Democratic Party succeeds. So, the best way to derail the Democratic Party’s efforts is to strengthen the Second Amendment. It is essentially for this reason that I am writing to you, and I am doing so out of a sense of urgency, as time is of the essence.

Almost one year ago, the Republican controlled House voted for passage of 115 H.R. 38, “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. “The House passed the bill on December 6, 2017, and it was immediately sent to the Senate for action. If Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, had pushed for passage of the bill, I feel certain it would have passed in the Republican controlled Senate. But, inexplicably, and disturbingly, the bill has lied dormant in the Senate Judiciary Committee, for almost a year.

A Democratic Party controlled House will likely not allow for passage of a bill for national concealed handgun carry reciprocity. So, any attempt by Senate Republicans to resurrect the bill in a Republican controlled Senate, when the new Congress commences business, on January 3, 2019, will be futile. We therefore have only a small window of opportunity remaining before the Senate recess. This is why the Senate must pass this measure without delay and present it to President Trump for his signature, before the Senate adjourns on December 14, 2018.

On our website, the Arbalest Quarrel, have discussed the importance of moving this bill through the Senate, while Republicans control both Houses of Congress. The link to our article is: We invite both you and President Trump to review our article and to act on this.

Nothing has more importance to me than the sacred rights and liberties set forth in our Constitution, and the preservation of our way of life, grounded in the Judea-Christian ethic. Both are under constant assault by Leftist elements inside our Country and outside it, and by our purported “free” Press.

As President Trump has made support of the Second Amendment an important part of his campaign, national handgun carry reciprocity would stand as his most important achievement in safeguarding the individual’s natural right of self-defense with a firearm. And, too, defending the Second Amendment through passage of this bill will demonstrate to millions of American citizens the veracity of the President ‘ s promises, the value of his word, and the strength of the President’s will to complete what he sets out to do.

I respectfully request you urge President Trump to call upon Senator McConnell to hold a Senate floor roll-call vote on national handgun carry reciprocity before the Senate adjourns on December 14, 2018.

I welcome the opportunity to assist further in this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of help. Thank you very much.

Respectfully submitted, _____________

Time is of the essence. The fight is not over. Right-to-carry nationwide is still possible. Keep in mind what the late Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “A right delayed is a right denied.” And many of you may recall the profound witticism of the late, great New York Yankees baseball catcher, Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Please do your part, if you haven’t already acted, to help make national concealed handgun carry reciprocity the Law of the land.  Whether it’s one or two phone calls or a quick text message, doing something is better than doing nothing. The fate of national handgun carry reciprocity and the fate of our fundamental, natural right, etched in stone in the Second Amendment, is ultimately in your hands.

 

Roger J. Katz has practiced law for the federal Government in Washington D.C., for the State Government in Arizona, and has been in private practice in Ohio, New York, and Arizona. Roger is a co-founder of Arbalest Group LLC, creator of the Arbalest Quarrel weblog, dedicated to strengthening the Second Amendment, preserving our Bill of Rights, and maintaining a free Republic. He is a decorated veteran NYPD officer and adjunct professor/lecturer of Police Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

This article was originally published at arbalestquarrel.com and is reprinted here with permission. 

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66 COMMENTS

  1. Never gonna happen in congress. Eventually the courts will strike down ‘may issue’ permits, then the table is set for reciprocity through the courts.

    • I have to agree and, I think that judicial restraint on “may-issue” would be preferable. If the feds get their hand into CC reciprocity I fear that it won’t be long before the feds are dictating the standards for CC permitting and then we would be worse off than we are now.

      • Maybe. As it is though, fed eral regulations aren’t nearly as egregious as many states.

        I think the kind of politicians that would use the striking down of may issue to impose feder al regulations, don’t need any SCOTUS decision to push for them.

        • True, but to screw with state regs the antis have to go to each state individually and win.

          With a federal law they only have to win once.

          I just feel like a SCOTUS ruling is better than a law because the ruling can’t be changed based on the whim of Congress Critters.

    • Thank goodness we have gun owners like you on our side to help motivate action. It’s great that you’re willing to spend 30 seconds on a blog to cast hopelessness and doubt for gun owners, but you won’t spend 5 minutes making your voice heard to Congress.

      Paraphrasing GW Bush, in this fight to advance the rights to keep and bear arms, you are either with us, or you are against us.

      clearly you are against us.

      • Nothing wrong with admitting when you are beat. We don’t currently have the votes in the Senate to pass this nor will our gun grabbing president sign it.

        The courts are absolutely the correct way to go about destroying the “may issue” problem in this nation. The Republicans and Trump do not have the guts to pass pro gun bills. Judges on the other hand are not able to be voted out of office and hold no fear over the fickle voting population. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh are in for life. They can vote how they want and we need to make sure that politicians keep putting judges like them in office. At this point, we should really be calling our representatives not about guns, but about working as quickly as possible to confirm Trump’s judges.

        • Arguably the best thing Trump has accomplished was getting Gorsuch in. Everything else has been a clusterfuck. His protectionism did get thousands of people fired and multiple plants closed in states he needs to win in 2020.

        • Nothing to see here Trumpets:

          Corporate tax cuts, tariffs, increased spending, increased debt, etc. Yet people believe Trump is doing good business and that his ideas are actually helping the average person in the long run. Even Republicans are bewildered at the negative consequences and are threatening some kind of fascist retaliation.

          So what does Trump do to make America great again? Maybe give back the power to the Americans or maybe…?

          I wonder what Alex Jones is saying right now. Is he blaming China? Is he blaming Democrats? Is he blaming Muslims? Is he blaming the “swamp?”

        • “Let me tell you folks in Ohio and in this area: Don’t sell your house. Don’t sell your house. Do not sell it. We are going to get those values up. We are going to get those jobs coming back and we’re going to fill up those factories or rip them down and build brand new ones.” –Donald Trump

        • “The Republicans and Trump do not have the guts to pass pro gun bills”

          The Republicans in the House DID pass it. And I have no doubt Trump WILL sign it.

          But there are only 51 Republicans in the Senate, and all bills in the Senate require 60 votes to pass.

          So unless you have a plan to convince at least 9 Democrats to vote FOR national reciprocity, then there’s no point in bringing it up.

          That’s just how the math works.

          Now that the House is gone, and the Rs still don’t have 60 votes in the Senate, the issue is dead until at least 2020, unless SCOTUS intervenes and wipes away all anti-gun laws the same way they did with anti-gay-marriage laws.

      • Clearly you are delusional. Do you really think that 9 Democrats in the senate are going to vote for national reciprocity? I live out here in fly-over country. My senators are just fine. The senators that need prodding don’t give a shit what some right wing g un nut from out of state thinks of their positions.

        And who’s to say that looking to SCOTUS to do their job is ‘casting hopelessness’? If you want hopelessness look to the politicians.

    • Right it’s not going get done. In the odd chance it moves anywhere, it’s going to be so full of things like universal background checks, and rehashes of the 1994 AWB ban that no gun owner is going to want the thing.

      • Really, who wants to go to New Jersey anyway?

        Which brings up another point – if we get reciprocity by either means, you’d best not get caught in New Jersey with hollow points. These states won’t take it lying down and will simply make sure that out of state carriers are subject to the same draconian restrictions that they impose on the locals. Best make sure you’re damn familiar with their laws or that permit won’t be worth the plastic it’s printed on.

        • Imagine what would happen to a Texan who shoots some black guy to death in California with his CCW piece. You think the cops, lawyers, jury and residents are going to be friendly to the Texan? I can imagine communist leaning states would make examples of every non resident… If so called national reciprocity became a thing doesn’t mean you will be able to use your gun.

          No doubt there will be an increase of good guys with guns getting shot down by the police.

        • CZ has a very valid point.

          It’s somewhat similar to certain parts of the ACA. There’s no point in having the “insurance” if you can’t use it in real life. Same deal with a CCW permit. It might be valid for carry in all states under the scheme this article is discussing but it’s pointless if it gets you locked up for actually using your ability to CC.

        • You’re not going to have to use your weapon in a communist state to get in big trouble. Besides the aforementioned scenario of getting caught in NJ with hollow points, even if you’ve broken none of their laws you could still be held for 3 days while they ‘verify’ the validity of your permit. PotG who think that national reciprocity is some sort of panacea for g un owners are pretty naive IMHO. But it would be nice to see the feds shove it down their throats anyway.

    • This ship has left the dock. And the Hearing protection act is on the same ship.. Several issues, crazy White guys shooting up the innocent, Trump focused on Bob Mueller and (R) congress hunkering down, after the election beat down. For me the Hearing Protection Act failure was the deal breaker with me. I will not sell my vote for inaction..

    • It’s not going to happen in the courts. Every Federal Circuit that has considered ‘may issue” , except the 7th, has upheld it. The US Supreme Court has avoided taking up the issue at every opportunity. What court is going to strike down may issue?

      I’m really concerned about the Federal regulation argument. If you haven’t noticed, we already have extensive federal regulation of firearms, almost alternate prohibiting one thing or another. I see no problem with a federal statute that permits us to do something, even if it only mimics the Constitution.

  2. Our Dem senators in NH aren’t going to be much help.

    If the Republicans had the cajones, it would have been done already, but they wussed out.

  3. While I love the state I live in, I’m stuck with D senators and D representatives across the board. I’ve written them, and if it’s not 100% boilerplate coming back, it translates into “We think we should have even more gun control. And we don’t need your vote, so there.”

    Unfortunately we now also have an avowedly anti-gun governor. Our upcoming legislative

    • Do you really think that rep or senator reads your letter? No, they don’t. The letter is read by some 22 year old political science degree’d kid who spends all of 12 seconds scanning your long thought out and written words before labeling with or against the official stance of the office. Then you get a letter back. Here’s a better exercise. Try to make an appointment with your senator or rep. See how high up the staff you can get before no one else will meet with you. Who you meet with is determined by how much you donate to political campaigns. Donate the max to a candidate and you’ll get to meet with the a senior policy director. Attend $10k+/plate PAC events and you’re going to get to meet your rep or senator and chat.

      Stop wasting your time with letters. Start donating you money to campaigns. If you don’t have money, donate your time. But, letters will get you nowhere.

      • Impromptu meetings, with a hand full of people at one time, gets “your” representative’s attention. You don’t need hundreds or thousands of people to march, just various groups of people constantly showing up to have a chat in person with “their” servant. At least that is what I hear from Maxine Waters.

      • “The letter is read by some 22 year old political science degree’d kid who…”

        Most congressional aides don’t have a poli sci degree, they’re most often a “communications” degree. If these folks had a poli sci degree, well, one worth blowing to hell, Congress would be a very different place.

        Most people with poli sci degrees become lawyers or lobbyists. They don’t try to survive in DC on <$40K/year.

        • Your rep and senator each have one office in D.C. In the case of reps , they’ll have two or three more in their district and a senator can more than half a dozen offices in his/her home state depending on the side. Also the congressional staffers salaries are public. You’d be shocked to see how much some of them are paid.

  4. None of it was going to happen anyway. Gun rights are more useful to politicians as a talking point, and gun owners are treated as an enemy by one side of the debate and a prisoner by the other. I’ve heard people talk about black people being kept on the Democrat plantation – more and more, I think we’re all just stuck on the Republican version. Nowhere to go if we leave, no will to stay and take it over for ourselves.

    • Yup. The best chance to leave team R with their um, hat, in their hands was 2016 and we never even considered it. I mean I did, but I’m probably a crypto-democrat who has never even fired a gun right? Two years later, still nothing. Another chance like that will take 15 years.

      From an individual-centric perspective gun rights is a losing piece of territory now; no way forward, ongoing liabilities.

    • It is what you make of it.

      It’s clear the traditional Republicans don’t have the will… Now what are the people going to do about it?

  5. You all traded your votes already. Maybe for gun rights, in which case you got ripped off. Maybe for the wall and to protect fetuses. Whatever. Your future votes as well, there’s no mystery to where they are going.

    So lets not act like you’ve got anything left to bargain with. You’ve had your say now take what you’re given like good peasants.

  6. After a lot of research and thought, I’d rather not have federal control in this area. It would later be used against us. With more states going to constitutional carry, I see that as the route (although a long one) towards more freedom. Of course there are about 10 states that will need to be drug into the world of freedom kicking and screaming by the courts. If we can get one more conservative on the Supreme Court, we’ll probably limit the damage for the next 10 to 15 years. I know this sounds a little naive. Federal hands in this area is not the answer though.

    One last thing. We need to prioritize this stuff. Red Flag laws are the most dangerous right now and should be opposed more vigorously. Our energies need to be spent carefully. The other side is patient

    • I agree – 50-state reciprocity is a great goal, but a bad idea to pursue through federal law. We should be leaning on our governors and state legislatures to pursue agreements with other states and leave the feds entirely out of it. That way, we could consolidate what we already have and build toward a critical mass where it becomes unusual and looked down upon for a state to reject reciprocity. It’s using the antis’ strategy of isolating and othering us all against them, so that’s a plus too. At the federal level, I always wished they would’ve devoted that reciprocity talk and energy to deregulating suppressors and maybe even going for SBR/SBS. Those are simple enough for a non-gunner to understand and stupid enough that it’s easy to get them to agree that it’s ridiculous to restrict them (tested and proven on gun-unaware friends and associates over the years). If we’re going to get anything substantive done (i know, but i can dream) that’s where we really need to push.

      • Short barreled guns and suppressors sounds more tempting than a federal licensing bill. It would also be nice to be able to import whatever gun we want. I think that would do much more for the 2nd Amendment and the industry.

        I would love to have a high quality suppressed short barreled AK-47 without having to give something up to get permission to keep/own it. I don’t want to be forced to ask the feds to give me the okay and then have to ask the cops if it’s cool to pick one up. We know they don’t want us to be able to keep and bear SBRs because they feel threatened by such power in the hands of the people.

        • Not to mention that, if nothing else, all the federal paperwork on mufflers and SBRs is a PITA.

          The USPS informs me that just today I should be getting a piece of mail from the BATFE, hopefully an approved COA form. Just such a pain the dick to deal with all the regs and forms never mind the fees.

        • Exactly. And why all the paperwork? Suppressors, okay, they’ll hit us with the “OMG SILENT ASSASSINS AROUND EVERY CORNER” line and we’ll laugh off their childish idiocy and beat them into submission with the health and quality of life benefits of reduced noise. Also, most of Europe doesn’t even care about suppressor use/ownership, so why do we? SBRs should be an easy sell, as they’re generally still far too large to conceal and also pistols are available so it’s dumb to fret about a 10″ rifle barrel anyway. I can’t believe the SBR/SBS stuff was even included considering the accompanying handgun ban in the original NFA never happened. All I can think is either failure to clean up the bill before it went to a vote or spite on the part of some asshole in Congress who decided to just leave that in there to screw with gun owners.

          Isn’t the import ban an EO from the Bush era anyway? Couldn’t Trump just laugh and sign that one away without any kind of fanfare if he wanted? For that matter, how about things like 7n6 or any number of other executive overreaches?

        • “And why all the paperwork?”

          Because it’s just another level of bullshit to discourage people from owning things the government disapproves of those people owning.

          The form I got today was disapproved. I’ve usually used a computer to copy/paste information for my 5320.20s but I filled this one out by hand because my computers were packed for the move. I should have been better about this but I was behind so I just figured a pen would suffice. They nailed me on the following.

          All previous paperwork says “XXXXXX Trust.” and I put in “XXXXXX Trust” instead. So, the paperwork came back with giant “DISAPPROVED” stamps on it, a check in the “disapproved” checkbox with the note “Firearms registered to different trust” because I forgot a punctuation mark. What a fucking dick, eh?

          See, now I’m playing right into their hand. My complaining here probably scares off at least one person from getting into NFA items, which is just how they want it.

    • For the 13 States that currently have some form of permitless carry, this NatRep bill is a really bad idea. It would quickly become the Feds path to establishing a National permission slip, or Fed rules requiring a permit issued by the States, that would undoubtedly be a compromise between the permitless carry States and places like NJ, CA, etc., which would mean no more permitless carry anywhere. No thanks. I’ve had it with Nanny Govt.

      The real solution is to repeal all State permit requirements via legislative or Supreme Court action. But of course that’s not going to happen in the short term.

  7. The cause of national concealed carry reciprocity need you to pull out your dick and piss in the wind.

    If the republican-held House and Senate had really wanted to get this done they would have. But it is quite obvious that gun rights are just a ploy to get single-issue voters to stay on their side with no intent ever do anything for them.

      • Yeah, so reality sucks, so what do we do about it. National Concealed Carry was probably more full of legal potholes than anyone could imagine. We are better off trudging along state by state trying to achieve Constitutional Carry. Maybe the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is pointing us in that direction. Let’s see what SCOTUS decides, if it ever gets there.

  8. It would be a nice middle finger to Nancy to pass it but the bill has a few flaws and it’s unlikely to make it over to the Senate. And there is no guarantee Trump would sign it.

  9. I’m not falling for it no matter how many times you say it’s going to strengthen the 2nd Amendment.

    A suppressor bill, yes. A national licensing bill, no. Make suppressors unrestricted, that’s not asking too much.

  10. Let’s get rid of Gun Control is whatever guise it might be offered, except for the following. Persons who by their demonstrated actions have shown themselves unfit to possess arms, convicted criminals for instance, shall be barred from the possession or use of arms. No others shall be bothered or concerned.

    • “Shall not be infringed,” what the fcuk is so hard to understand? I have credits for a minor in English and studied, officially, Middle and Modern English and have an interest in Old English and am a calligrapher with personal interests in paleography. I think, but who am I to judge, this one of the straightforward clauses I have ever been called upon to elucidate. That is the problem, they don’t teach writing anymore in school and I seriously doubt reading was ever taught. Keep the masses ignorant!

  11. Name 9 Democrats that will move the bill out of debate. Hell, name 50 rinos that will vote yea for the bill, any pro gun bill. Face it, we’ve been suckered punched again. Come January 2021, the dems will own the government and we’ll be fighting gun confiscation in the courts.

  12. “Let’s get rid of Gun Control is whatever guise it might be offered, except for the following. Persons who by their demonstrated actions have shown themselves unfit to possess arms, convicted criminals for instance, shall be barred from the possession or use of arms. No others shall be bothered or concerned.”

  13. This idea is dead for at least the next two years. Mitch McConnell doesn’t want it and will not let it come up for a vote, period. First, he has to go. President Trump seems to have little interest in this and seems more interested in “Bump Stock” headlines. The next speaker of the house? Haven’t heard from him but without the Senate, it is dead. If Trump gets re-elected, if we return a Republican House and if we still hold the Senate less a few more “RINO’s”, maybe.

    • Mitch McConnell and the Leftist of the Republican party,aka the RINOs are the main reason it isn’t going to happen. I would much rather,it come about through what is already supposedly the supreme law of the land,Constitutional carry.

  14. Article 1 section 9(fed) & 10(state)
    Article IV
    Article VI
    Second Amendment
    Concealed carry reciprocity legislation is unnecessary and unconstitutional without an amendment or repeal.
    The federal government is illegally enforcing null and void “laws” it is dereliction of duty
    And subversion , sedition and conspiracy to commit to not uphold the Constitution.

  15. Couple things here. It was never going to pass and will never pass.

    The people saying passage would be bad are ignoring the fact that 1. The bill does not make a national licensing scheme. 2. The gun culture would get a huge boost if people didn’t have to worry about gun free jurisdictions. Plus the possibility of opening up millions and millions of people from Kalifornia and NY to being able to bear arms would also greatly help the gun culture, make it more mainstream, making it less contentious and less urgent for anti gun pols to try and restrict it.

    • 1. In order to establish reciprocity, there would have to be some universal set of minimum standards agreed upon by the states. Otherwise it’s just tyranny in a direction that might happen to benefit us. To accomplish that, a de-facto national licensing standard would have to be developed, which could screw us all depending on who gets to set that.

      2. The gun culture wouldn’t necessarily get a boost, because CCW reciprocity in and of itself won’t force states to stop being terrible to their constituents. Also, concealed continues to mean concealed, so it’s not like having out-of-state CCW holders on the street will present any kind of good optics to the undecided or uninterested. If anything, the best we could generally hope for would be for life to continue undisturbed, because anyone having to actually reveal that they were carrying would be painted as an out-of-state gun nut standing their ground.

      3. The anti-gunners, at least the true believers at the core of the movement, will never lose any of their drive or sense of urgency, because it’s not about popularity or fringe status to them. It’s about control, which they will seek with equal fervor regardless of time or effort or cost. Reciprocity or no, they’ll continue waging their culture war until one side or the other is buried.

      I understand the sentiment and agree with then idea, but I also think we’re wasting our time at the Federal level and fear the unintended consequences if we do eventually ram something through. I think reciprocity needs to be pursued at the state level, and that we need to keep our focus on singling out, making known, and cutting off all of the stupidest edges of the existing Federal laws (SBR/SBS, I’m looking at you).

  16. The following is a recent article I found. Someone like to explain why this won’t work instead of National Reicprocity! Thanks..

    Concealed Carry Permits Between States and the Full Faith and Credit Clause
    I would like someone to explain why Concealed Carry Permits/Licenses are not protected by the “full faith and credit” clause of the Constitution : “Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.” -Article IV, Section 1. State laws cannot conflict with the Constitution (Supremacy Clause, Article VI, Section 2). I taught High School Government classes for 31 years, so I know what I am talking about here.
    States have to recognize marriage licenses from every other state, so why not my Concealed Carry License I have from my home State of Kentucky? Does this mean that I am married in some States with a Marriage License from Kentucky, but not in others? The Full Faith and Credit Clause does not give a State the power to say “we will accept some public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of the other States, but not accept others”. A public act, record, or judical proceeding IS a public act, record, or judical proceeding!
    My wife and I travel quit a bit and I’m sorry, but I am not going out on the road without a pistol for our personal protection. Even the Police admit that they can’t be everywhere all the time for the public’s safety. I believe if someone or some national organization would challenge this in federal court, the federal court would have to apply the full faith and credit clause to cover concealed carry permits/licenses. My CCL was issued by the State, has the State Seal and other identifying marks, and my personal information on it just as my Driver’s License does. As far as I am concerned, that makes it a STATE RECORD like any other license issued by my state. Am I legal to drive in some States with my Kentucky Driver’s License, but not in others?
    I had to complete an extensive course in gun safety and marksmanship before I got my CCL in Kentucky, more so than getting a marriage or drivers license! And don’t use the argument that “guns are dangerous” – more people are killed by people driving cars each year in the US than by firearms. There is hardly any mention any more in the news about a death in a car wreck, but let one occur becasue of someone using a gun and the news outlets, especiall TV, are all over it! Just this morning out of Lexington, KY on TV : “Twelve Year Old Shot In The Chest While At Home”, but nothing about the three people killed in a car wreck on I-75 yesterday!
    In my opinion, the States should concentrate on toughing up the laws on punshiment for the use of a firearm to commit a violent crime (at least life without parole) and leave law-abiding citizens alone! Convicted felons in my area seem to pay little attention to the ban on them ever possessing a firearm again after their convictions.
    I guess maybe that I will be the first to use the full faith and credit clause as a defense if and when I get arrested for LEGALLY carrying a pistol, with my CCL, in some of our ***-backward states.

  17. “Votes are one thing that all politicians know well and are sensitive to.”

    Are they? Of the republicans don’t do anything about reciprocity and the next election comes around, will you suggest not voting for them? If the answer is ‘no…’ then they have n reason to push for reciprocity. They have your vote either way.

  18. I emailed my senators, Schumer and Gillibrand, no doubt my input will steer them towards supporting this legislation.

    Haha.

  19. As much as I hate to admit it, Pro 2nd amendment legislation like national reciprocity will never be passed in this lame duck session of Congress thanks to the many elitist RINO’s who never had any intention of following through on 2A related campaign promises. Likewise, it’s delusional to expect the Roberts SCOTUS to come through with any decision overturning State may issue laws, the Court will side step the issue by continuing to decline accepting any new cases that challenge an anti-gun agenda in blue States. Sadly, progressive liberals virtual monopoly of most news outlets and the social media behemoths is winning the anti-gun propaganda war of words.

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