2014 is shaping up to be a great year for gun owners. Illinois becomes the last state to allow concealed carry, Florida recently allows firearms on campus, and now a new bill has been introduced into Congress that if passed, would allow citizens with a concealed carry permit to legally carry across the country.
Senator John Cornyn introduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act on Monday. Similar to the well-known H.R. 822 bill, it would allow people to carry firearms across state lines without having to worry about state laws regarding reciprocity.
(Washington Times) Anti-gun activists have attempted to make Mr. Cornyn’s bill seem extremist. “There’s some scaremongering going on out there, but it’s pretty straightforward,” he said. “It’s like a driver’s license. It doesn’t trump state laws. Say you have a carry permit in Texas; then you use it in another state that has a concealed-carry law.”
This popular, common-sense legislation is necessary because the current system is totally convoluted. Each state decides which permits from other states it recognizes as lawful, and some recognize none. Gun owners are stuck doing extensive legal research to travel, but they can still get caught in the thicket. Mr. Cornyn said, “There are some jurisdictions like to play ‘gotcha.’”
This is a step in the right direction and we are moving forward. I think that we can all agree when I say; I’d love to be able to take a day trip to a neighboring state with my firearm and not worry about checking up on all of the laws that go along with us being gun owners. Like the article says…if we can drive in any state with our drivers license, we should be able to carry our firearms in any state as well. We’re Americans.
