Well that's not what Senate John Cornyn's (R. TX) amendment is called but it might as well be called that:
http://blog.chron.com/...
Sen. John Cornyn this morning proposed an amendment to the controversial gun control bill that would expand concealed-carry gun laws across state lines without obtaining a permit in the other state.
The Texas Republican’s plan would not permit concealed-carry permit holders to take their guns into states that did not allow individuals to carry concealed weapons.
The move, backed by gun rights groups, ups the ante in the politically divisive debate over the best ways to combat gun violence. Cornyn and his allies in the NRA say that more guns — in the right hands — will reduce the likelihood of massacres in schools, playgrounds and movie theaters. Proponents of legislation currently under consideration on the Senate floor prefer background checks of more potential gun purchasers before the sale of potentially deadly weapons.
Cornyn’s proposals comes as the Senate is about to vote on the most dramatic gun legislation since 1994. The bipartisan gun proposal authored by pro-gun Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and pro-gun Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania is scheduled for today at 4 p.m. The epicenter of the legislation is to expand background checks, which polls show 90 percent of the American people want. The Senate, however, is deeply divided and supporters are not certain whether they can garner the 60 votes supermajority required for passage. - Houston Chronicle, 4/17/13
Here's why his amendment should be named after George Zimmerman:
http://thinkprogress.org/...
If enacted, the Cornyn Amendment would override existing state laws to allow anyone with a concealed gun carry permit issued by one state to carry guns into any other state.
Perhaps, the easiest way to illustrate the problems with this concept is by pointing back to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin just over a year ago. Recall, that’s the case of the Florida teenager who was shot to death by a gun-toting, self-appointed neighborhood watchman named George Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman, who does not dispute pulling the trigger but claims the shooting was justified, is awaiting trial for Mr. Martin’s murder.
The concealed carry reciprocity amendment that the gun lobby is likely to push this week would have authorized George Zimmerman to carry his guns anywhere in the country until his permit was finally suspended by the state.
Why is this a problem? Because some states, like Florida, issue gun carry permits to just about anyone, including criminals, known alcoholics, and domestic abusers. In Mr. Zimmerman’s case, he was arrested in 2005 for assaulting a police officer, was the subject of domestic violence restraining orders until 2006, but still had a gun permit in 2012. In fact, even after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, Florida’s extremely lax concealed carry laws prevented police from immediately revoking Mr. Zimmerman’s permit.
While 49 states allow concealed gun-carrying, most states place qualifications on who can carry those guns that go above and beyond the federal laws. - Think Progress, 4/17/13
The amendment is supported by the NRA, Gun Owners of America and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Meanwhile, Cornyn's idiot brother in arms is also pushing for his own amendment:
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/...
And Sen. Ted Cruz is spending the day courting support for an alternative to the Democrats’ bill. His package would make it easier to transport guns across state lines, and would crack down on felons who try to buy guns, without expanding background checks.
“This legislation is targeted at stopping violent crime,” Cruz told reporters as he unveiled his package with Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, and two GOP colleagues. “The way to stop violent crime is to stop violent criminals.”
Cruz has focused on the relative dearth of prosecutions against felons and fugitives who try to buy guns.
Background checks stopped about 38,000 ineligible buyers in 2010, he said, citing a Justice Department report, but only 44 of those would-be buyers were prosecuted.
Grassley and Cruz claim more than 20 co-sponsors. Their bill would provide $45 million over three years, to add federal prosecutors and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents in 15 high-crime jurisdictions.
It also calls for adding $50 million over five years for a Justice Department task force to prosecute felons and fugitives who fail background checks.
The bill also allows for interstate sales of firearms, and provides:
$300 million over 10 years for school safety grants.
$200 million over five years to boost mental health services.
$100 million over five years to encourage states to report mental health records, which would make it easier to screen out ineligible gun buyers by using the federal background check database. - The Dallas Morning News, 4/17/13
And of course Cruz has been the one fear mongering over the Toomey-Manchin compromise which he now admits does not create a national gun registry:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has been raising fears that expanding background checks would bring about a national gun registry, conceded Wednesday that the legislation doesn’t actually do that. But he warned that the bill would encourage future efforts to allow a registry.
Federal law prohibits the creation of a national gun registry. And the Manchin-Toomey background check legislation makes it a felony, punishable by a fine and 15 years in prison. TPM asked Cruz on Wednesday morning how the bill would lead to a registry.
“I don’t disagree that on its face, the currently pending legislation does not purport to create a national gun registry,” Cruz said. But he argued that the bill wouldn’t achieve the desired results without a registry and motivate gun control supporters to push for the creation of one.
“The Department of Justice has been explicit that when you require background checks for private firearms transactions, the only way to make that effective is through a national gun registry,” he said. “So if the bill that is pending on the floor of the Senate passed, the next step in the process would be that critics would say, ‘Well this isn’t effective. We don’t know if you’re selling your firearm to someone else unless we know you have your firearm.’ And in my judgment a federal registry of firearms … would be terrible policy and would be inconsistent with the Constitution.”
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) have gone to great lengths to dispel the notion that their bill would bring about a gun registry. Both have “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association and vociferously oppose the idea. But the myth persists, and Democrats have been exasperated by its endurance. - TPM, 4/17/13
Whether it's filibustering Chuck Hagel or derailing immigration reform, Cornyn and Cruz are the shit kicking duo that define modern day GOP obstruction. Please call your Senator and urge them to vote against the Cornyn Amendment:
http://www.senate.gov/...