Free Republic

Washington State’s own Tri-City Herald today published an editorial that speaks about the Second Amendment and how many liberals cling to the notion that it is the illegitimate son in the Bill of Rights; interesting timing since other newspapers today also are discussing recent legislation, H.R. 822, adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives to assure right-to-carry licenses and permits are honored across the country when armed citizens travel. This column discussed that legislation. The Philadelphia Inquirer is aghast at the legislation, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette does not seem terribly happy with it, either. But out west in the Tri-Cities,...

ONE question that worries many visitors to defensivecarry.com, a website devoted to the delights and pitfalls of life with a hidden gun, is whether their “concealed-carry” permits will be valid outside the state in which they are issued. Can they take their guns on holiday with them? Can they pack them in their checked bags for a flight? What if their plane is diverted to a spot like New York, which makes it exceedingly difficult to carry a gun? And if they cannot bring their guns with them, how will they defend themselves and their loved ones when threatened? Gun-rights...

Now that HR 822 has passed the House of Representatives in overwhelming fashion, it moves to the Senate. Unless I am greatly mistaken, there is significant pressure on senators from both sides of the debate. The Brady Campaign is ramping up the pressure with an auto-mailer campaign asking senators to vote no. Nonetheless, even they admit they don't have the votes to stop it. I sent an email today to Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) about the bill. While I have no worries that Sen. Richard Burr will be a solid backer of the bill, Hagan can be wishy-washy despite her...

The National Rifle Association has commended U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell for his “leadership” on a gun owner rights issue. Last week, a bill co-sponsored by Kissell that protects gun owner rights nationwide was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011,” will allow people with a valid, state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed firearm in other states which issue concealed carry permits. The measure passed the House by a vote of 272 to 154. Chris Schuler, communications director for Kissell, said, “As with any legislation these days, there are always...

Now that H.R. 822 seems to be on the move, a lot of optimism about a climate change in Washington is coming alive. Our idea of climate change is, of course, how warm things are for the second amendment. I don’t care for gun laws that ‘permit’ second amendment freedoms; I much prefer the repeal of all gun laws as an affirmation of who is the Sovereign in this country. All gun laws are a challenge to our authority as supreme, and when we stand for it, we confirm that paradigm that we are not the Sovereign and the servants...

Congress is expected to vote Tuesday on whether concealed carry gun licenses should be treated the same way we treat driver's licenses for cars. With 245 co-sponsors in the House, the only question is whether there are the 290 votes necessary to override President Obama's veto. For decades, treating licenses for guns like those for cars was something that gun control advocates wanted. In his 2000 presidential campaign, Al Gore promised: "We require a license to drive a car in this nation in order to keep unsafe drivers off the road. As president, I will fight for a national requirement...

The House passed a bill that would require states to honor permits issued by other states that allow people to carry concealed weapons. One of the leading opponents of the bill is Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-Garden City, whose husband, Dennis, was one of six people shot to death on a Long Island Rail Road train on Dec.7, 1993. Do you think we should allow more people to carry concealed weapons? Are you influenced by the C.W. Post professor who accidentally shot himself on campus last week? Should New York Have to Accept Other States' Concealed-Weapons Permits? (Voting has been closed...

Truck drivers are closely monitoring a bill aimed at unifying states’ concealed carry laws. The bill, HR822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, passed the House by a vote of 272-154 on Wednesday, Nov. 16. U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-FL, introduced the bill, which currently has 245 cosponsors and has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has been supportive of efforts like HR822, which would require states that “currently permit people to carry concealed firearms to recognize other states’ valid concealed carry permits.” “This bill will go a long ways toward...

As might be expected, the Brady Campaign released a statement yesterday condemning the passage by the House of HR 822 - the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. The statement is replete with plays to emotion, the parsing of language to create the wrong impression, and at least one outright lie. Let's look at the first part of the statement. Washington, D.C. – Just hours after Gabby Giffords spoke publicly for the first time and shared her painful but remarkable story of recovery from being shot in the head, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would force...

A proposal to circumvent Illinois’ ban on carrying concealed weapons failed in the rules committee of the U.S. House Monday night. U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, and four other Illinois Republicans offered an amendment to the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act that is scheduled to be voted on by the full House on Tuesday. The amendment would supersede Illinois’ ban on carrying concealed weapons by allowing Illinoisans to obtain a concealed-carry permit in another state — provided that state’s background checks and safety-training requirements are met — and use the permit in Illinois. But the rules committee rejected the...

WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY4), one of Congress’s most vocal advocates for reducing gun violence, is proposing two amendments in an effort to stop H.R. 822, the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act. The bill, which would force states to recognize the concealed handgun permits issued by other states even if their safety standards are much lower, is expected to receive a full House floor vote on Wednesday. Rep. McCarthy is proposing two amendments to the House Majority: (No. 1) an amendment that would allow states to opt in to the reciprocity agreements mandated by H.R. 822 and...

This week, perhaps as early as Tuesday, the House of Representatives will vote on HR 822, the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, and hysteria about this legislation is not merely coming from the usual gun prohibitionist corners. Incredible to some, perhaps, but one organization – the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) – is working just as hard as anti-gun Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy to derail the measure and get President Obama to promise a veto. Maybe harder. Why? An e-mail from NAGR says this: Once gun owners let the Obamacrats start mandating whether...

"The House of Representatives this week should pass H.R. 822, the proposed National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011," gun law expert John M. Snyder said here today. He is the Gun Dean, according to Human Events. "This bill, if enacted into law, would allow an individual with a permit to carry a concealed firearm issued by a state to carry in other states," he explained. "It's an idea whose time has come," Snyder added. "Studies show that where CCW legislation is enacted, rates of violent crime take a precipitous downturn. People with drivers' licenses issued by a state can drive...

HB 822 is a bill in congress to establish a national law requiring reciprocity between states for those who carry concealed weapons. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h822/text Basically it says that you can carry concealed in a state if you’re licensed, if the state’s citizens can carry, and you have to obey local laws. The bill also says that a visitor has the same rights to self defense as an unrestricted citizen. Let me explain this in familiar terms. You can drive in another state if the state allows its own citizens to drive. You have to be 16 years old to drive if...

Thanks to the good work of millions of American gun owners and NRA members, Congress is moving closer to restoring one of our fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Ten days ago, the House Judiciary Committee considered amendments to the “National Right-to-Carry-Reciprocity Act” (H.R. 822), which would allow any person with a valid, state-issued concealed firearm permit to exercise the right to carry a firearm in any state that permits concealed carry. Some members of the Committee tried to weaken the bill with anti-gun amendments, and I’m happy to report that every one of them failed. The committee is...

[Last] week, the House Judiciary considered amendments to H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill, and defeated all anti-gun amendments offered in an effort to weaken or gut the legislation. The legislation is an important pro-gun reform that will provide for the recognition of carry permits in all states that issue permits. (For detailed information on the legislation, click here.) The bill, as originally written, was successfully amended at the outset of the markup with a substitute that added a number of important protections. Foremost, it amended the language so that visitors to states that have laws requiring licenses just...

http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/mark_10132011.html

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The House Judiciary Committee will soon be voting on legislation that will guarantee the right of citizens to carry firearms out-of-state. And the vote could come as early as today or tomorrow! GOA has alerted you to H.R. 822 — introduced by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) – and explained the weaknesses in his bill. Many of you have taken action on our alerts and informed your Representative that there is a better approach. That approach has been championed by Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia, the author of H.R. 2900 — or the Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement...

Eatontown, NJ --(Ammoland.com)- Calvary Scout Jamie J. Kiklis was assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Tal Afar, Iraq during June of 2005. Part of the mission was to take a terrorist stronghold. While engaging the enemy in the pursuit of the objective, Kiklis was hit twice from enemy rounds fired from a terrorist’s AK-47. One bullet struck him in the abdomen and the other struck him in the thigh. Kiklis then crawled into an uncleared room and proceeded to conduct did his own medical treatment and “pulled security” with his Beretta 92 9mm pistol. While bleeding and trying...

The Second Amendment truly is the “black sheep” of the Bill of Rights. Imagine traveling from your home to Massachusetts, and not being able to buy a newspaper or stay at a motel because you’re from out of state. The ACLU would be up in…well, maybe not “arms”…but they would sure take issue with the violation of your First Amendment rights. When it comes to the Second Amendment, though, your right to keep and bear arms is often checked at the state line. And it hardly raises an eyebrow among civil libertarians. Criminals obviously don’t care if they cross state...