A bill that passed through the House along party lines would effectively negate any state’s efforts to regulate who can get a gun if it were signed into law. For now, there’s little chance it will pass - but at least 231 representatives in office right now would be perfectly willing to sign away states’ rights to legislate.
The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act exists to address what is a genuine practical problem for gun owners traveling the country, which is that an owner can legally purchase a gun in one state, travel to another and find that the same gun is now illegal to own. Proponents argue that it should work like any other license, such as a marriage license or driver’s license, and should be considered valid regardless of what state you’re in.
But the bill, which is now headed to the Senate, would effectively allow citizens to seek gun licenses from any state that will allow them to, regardless of what their own state’s laws are.
This is because it would require all states to recognize any concealed carry permit from another state, and some states have virtually no requirements in place to issue one. Virginia, for example, doesn’t require that you live there in order to get a permit, which means residents in states with more restrictive laws can just turn to Virginia to meet their needs.
Differentstates have different legal requirements for obtaining a concealed carry permitbecause they have different needs. This is why some states have restaurant pos software andothers lag behind. Guns simply aren’t like marriage or driving a car - the solepurpose of a gun is to wound. It must be legislated differently. Gun laws thatapply to Texas or Iowa just won’t fit in as well with New York and California,and state legislators have the right to determine whether they want to implementcertain restrictions.
No one thinks the bill will pass in the Senate, and suggestions that Republicans would attach a popular bipartisan measure to it to get it to pass probably won’t come to fruition. But it’s frustrating and even alarming to see how desperate Republicans are to pass the bill, and they’re only a few seats away from doing so. With Moore’s election on the horizon and midterms on everyone’s mind, it’s difficult to imagine that this bill won’t reappear.
Let’s be clear, here. I actually do agree that the federal government should dictate a relatively level and consistent playing field across the country over who should own a gun, using email lookup for a proper background check of gun owners. But unlike Republicans, I don’t think that playing field should be “effectively anyone can get one through a legal loophole.”
It’s also ironic that the party of state’s rights will so readily abandon the concept of leaving it up to the states in favor of a law that would literally prevent any state from effectively being able to regulate gun control on its own. It doesn’t matter what law citizens voted on or legislators passed - the GOP wants to satisfy the National Rifle Association.
And of course they do - the NRA spends millions of dollars on campaign donations and lobbying efforts in order to keep Republicans in their pockets.
For now, we don’t have to worry about this bill reaching Trump’s desk, but it’s worth keeping a watchful eye on.