Posted on 12/07/2012 1:20:25 PM PST by neverdem
www.commonsensepolitics.org |
As it currently stands, the Second Amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to own firearms. But each state is permitted to place its own restrictions on the types of firearms -- and the manner in which they're possessed -- that people are allowed to own.
A bill making its way through Congress would grant "reciprocity" for gun owners in states where they don't actually live. In other words, if you can carry a concealed handgun under Ohio law, an Ohio resident can carry a concealed weapon in New York -- regardless of New York's gun laws.
The bill is designed to keep gun owners from getting arrested in other states where gun laws might be different than they are in the state in which they live. But New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ain't havin' it.
Schneiderman is leading a coalition of attorneys general who oppose "The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act" and "The Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act," which he says "would force states like New York, and the other co-signing states, to abandon their own gun laws by allowing out-of-state visitors to carry concealed firearms based on their home state's less safe laws, rather than those of the state they are entering."
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the attorneys general expressed their concern that "the bill would restrict their states' ability to control who may and may not carry a concealed weapon within their borders, undermine the ability of police to verify the validity of gun permits, and allow gun traffickers to more easily bring illegal guns into their respective states.
"These two bills would force states to recognize concealed carry permits issued by any other states, even those with poor oversight and weaker permitting standards," the attorneys general wrote. "These bills would create a lowest common denominator approach to public safety that would endanger police and make it more difficult to prosecute gun traffickers."
Scheniderman says, that in 2011, about 68 percent of guns recovered in connection with crimes committed in New York State originally came from outside the state. That said, all of those guns found their way to New York without the help of a reciprocity law.
See the attorneys general's letter below.
The Honorable Harry Reid The Honorable Mitch McConnell
U.S. Senate Majority Leader U.S. Senate Republican Leader
522 Hart Senate Office Building 317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510
RE: Attorney General Opposition To S. 2188, "The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act" (Begich-Manchin) and S. 2213, "The Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act" (Thune-Vitter)
Dear Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell:
We write to respectfully urge you and your caucuses to oppose S. 2188, "The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act" and S. 2213, "The Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act." These two bills would force states to recognize concealed carry permits issued by any other states, even those with poor oversight and weaker permitting standards. These bills would create a lowest common denominator approach to public safety that would endanger police and make it more difficult to prosecute gun traffickers.
S. 2188 and S. 2213 trample on states' rights by overriding our states' legislative and regulatory authority to determine who can - and who cannot - carry hidden and loaded guns in public. For example, many states have established standards that go beyond federal law in order to keep concealed weapons out of the hands of violent misdemeanants, alcohol abusers, teenagers, and people who have not completed basic safety training. S. 2188 and S. 2213 would gut this framework, and impose the weakest state permitting and verification standards on all other states.
Under current law, states are free to enter into, refuse, or revoke concealed carry reciprocity agreements with other states. These agreements are often contingent on states having comparable permitting standards. For example, authorities in Nevada and New Mexico made the decision to stop recognizing carry permits issued by Utah, which does not require live-fire instruction as part of its training requirements. Nevada has also ended reciprocity with Florida, which only requires individuals to renew their permits every seven years. States would lose this discretion under forced reciprocity.
As Attorneys General, we are most troubled by the threat to public safety posed by local law enforcement's inability to promptly verify out-of-state permits. Contrary to claims by proponents of national concealed carry reciprocity legislation, varying state standards make it nearly impossible for our law enforcement agencies to quickly determine if a carry permit from another state is valid. This further jeopardizes the safety of police and the public. In addition, there is no comprehensive national database or inquiry system that alerts law enforcement officers when a concealed carry permit is counterfeit, expired, or has recently been revoked.
In fact, some states also fail to adequately track their own permit issuances and revocations. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has confirmed it cannot determine when a state permit-holder breaks the law; recently enacted Wisconsin law prohibits law enforcement from accessing permitting information during traffic stops or for purposes of investigating potential criminal activity; and Florida issued permits to more than 1,400 people who previously pleaded guilty or no contest to felonies, 216 people with outstanding warrants, 128 people with active domestic violence injunctions, and six registered sex offenders.
The police officers in our states are already putting their lives on the line when they stop potentially dangerous individuals on the street. Forcing these officers to conduct traffic stops and other police activity with no ability to authenticate every other state's carry permits would pose an extraordinary and unnecessary risk.
Forced reciprocity is opposed by national organizations including: the International Association of Chiefs of Police; the Major Cities Chiefs Association, representing the police chiefs of 62 major U.S. cities; the National Network to End Domestic Violence, representing 56 state and territorial domestic violence coalitions; the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; as well as various state law enforcement associations and law enforcement leaders. Forced reciprocity is also opposed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 650 mayors who collectively represent 54 million Americans.
We urge you to stand up for America's law enforcement community and oppose S. 2188 and S. 2213.
Sincerely,
Eric T. Schneiderman
New York Attorney General
Kamala D. Harris
California Attorney General
George Jepsen
Connecticut Attorney General
David M. Louie
Hawaii Attorney General
Lisa Madigan
Illinois Attorney General
Douglas F. Gansler
Maryland Attorney General
Martha M. Coakley
Massachusetts Attorney General
Catherine Cortez Masto
Nevada Attorney General
Ellen Rosenblum
Oregon Attorney General
Kathleen Kane
Pennsylvania Attorney General-Elect
The biggest scam about drivers licenses is that all those many years ago when they were first passed, they only applied to commercial drivers. Because it was widely known and accepted that you have a common law right to travel the public roads. Sadly 70+ years of propaganda have convinced many that you must ask permission from the government to travel.
“...Kathleen Kane
Pennsylvania Attorney General-Elect...”
Well, gee, It didn’t take long for this effing witch POS Kathleen Kane to show her true colors.
We’ll see how a couple thousand letters to the Republican Governor and House and Senate, and every gun rights organization in the state organizing against her sticks this right up her ass if she tries her liberal freak BS with Pennsylvania gunnies.
Game on, sweetie.
“...anti-gunners’ heads are going to explode...”
Oh, what nice imagery you paint....
Yes. Time for the gloves to come off.
Sure.
Then you would need a separate drivers, marriage or any other license when you visit a state.
Actually, the marriage license thing was an issue in the early 1900’s when biracial couples would travel through parts of the South.
I can almost guarantee that if federal gun reciprocity is passed, the very next efforts will be to make homosexual marriage, abortion rights, hate crimes laws, and other such things as binding federal reciprocity agreements.
fed regs are near universally B...A...D !!!
full reciprosity would eventually lead to the *least common denominator* being a fed standards for CC written by NY, Ill and Cal, which will trump the rest...bet on it...
Wouldn’t that law force states to recognize and honor same sex marriages from liberal states?
I understand the attractiveness of this bill for gun permits but then why have states to begin with?
Another Harvard educated Jewish lawyer who hates “little people” and thinks he’s just the answer for all our problems.
In other words, the Reciprocal Right to Carry law is good for America, good for patriots, good for freedom, good for liberty....and bad for the socialist despots who want to destroy our Constitution & rule the country as dictatorial elitists & fascist-socialists.
“As it currently stands, the Second Amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to own firearms. But each state is permitted to place its own restrictions on the types of firearms — and the manner in which they’re possessed — that people are allowed to own.”
“As it currently stands,” the US Supreme Court incorporated the second amendment among the states. Although simply ignored by some states and municipalities, the second amendment simply formalizes the human right to self-defense and the USSC has acknowledged that right as well as affirmed that it applies everywhere. No state is “permitted to place (any) restrictions” on that basic human right. The AG of NY is wrong—but when has that ever stopped govt officials from oppressing people? I am sure there are legal “experts” out there who can cough up a convoluted legal argument denying this but the intent of the 2nd amendment and the rights of human beings remains clear.
That's always entertaining when Lefties start sounding like 'originalists'. When it serves their ends, even Nancy Pelosi can sound like a Constitutional Scholar.(well, that may be taking it a bit too far)
"all of those guns found their way to New York without the help of a reciprocity law."
Did the guns just all walk up to NY all on their own? Maybe they flew. Perhaps an SUV gave them a ride.
Therefore...
The first step in "economic secession" should be declaration from all Red States that
"No 'order' (tyrannical fiat) issued by the Federal Executive Branch or any 'regulation' issued by any Federal agency of unelected bureaucrats shall bear the force of law within this State."
The second step in the "economic secession" of the red states from the blue hellholes should be a "Red State 2nd Amendment Reciprocity Bill".
The next step in "economic secession" should be Red State bills declaring all taxes paid by that State's citizens or businesses to be State Taxes -- with the State legislatures releasing to the Federal Government only those funds required to support that State's fraction of essential services (i.e. National Defense) that are Constitutional Federal responsibilities.
States should then be required by their citizens to reduce their citizens' taxes commensurate with the difference between taxes now paid to the FedGov and the pittance ratio of "Federal" funds returned to the state in the prior five years.
And then, Red States should begin a sequence of withholding their shares of any monies going to worthless or harmful agencies such as IRS, EPA, ATF, HHS, TSB, etc., etc., etc... And then, the States should reduce their citizens' taxes by a proportionate amount.
Note that the “second step” in #33, above, specifically addresses the issue of this thread...
2A legislation is the big stumbling block of centralization. The idiots know if they pass an egregiously stupid law some states will not only ignore it they will completely circumvent it. Kind of like select fire rifles and MGs without the dog license. (FTR I want a M-249) Since America is being reduced to a combination day care center/Jim JOnes cult with people desperate to get out of this show of freedom could set off a rapid demise of the baby sitting regime.
One question: Does Schneiderman carry in New York or in ANY state he visits?
I went to the Village Voice and looked at the comments. Amazingly, all 13 of them were against Mr. Schneiderman.
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