Big push for uniform concealed carry law

via: Response action/network

Second Amendment activists are making a big push to overcome an obstacle to uniform concealed carry laws (link is external). And they broke the news last week at CPAC:

Executive Vice President and CEO of the National Rifle Association Wayne LaPierre said it’s time for Congress to act and pass the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

"It's time for Congress to pass national right-to-carry reciprocity for the entire United States," LaPierre declared to cheers from the crowd of thousands of conservatives gathered at the Maryland event.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is the chief sponsor of the concealed-carry bill in the upper chamber, while Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) is spearheading the push in the House.

Supporters of the legislation — expected to be a top priority (link is external) for gun rights activists in the current Congress, — believe they can secure enough Democratic votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster and get the legislation to President Obama’s desk.

Here is some additional background (link is external) on the issue:

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and other Second Amendment advocates are throwing their weight behind the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, a bill introduced in both chambers of Congress that would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines.

“The Second Amendment doesn’t end at the border of your state,” said Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “This would enhance the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves when they’re away from home."

Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said the bill is needed to clarify a “patchwork of state and local laws” that is “confusing for even the most conscientious and well-informed concealed carry permit holders.”

"The constitutional right to self-defense does not stop at a state's borders. Law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise this fundamental right while traveling across state lines,” Cox said (link is external) last week. 

The Second Amendment is a right extended to all citizens. Congressional action is a proper way to ensure that this right is recognized uniformly across all states.