Free Republic

INDIANAPOLIS — With concealed weapons now legal in all 50 states, the National Rifle Association’s focus at this week’s annual meeting is less about enacting additional state protections than on making sure the permits already issued still apply when the gun owners travel across the country. The nation’s largest gun-rights group, which officially opens its meeting of about 70,000 people Friday in Indianapolis, wants Congress to require that concealed weapons permits issued in one state be recognized everywhere, even when the local requirements differ. Advocates say the effort would eliminate a patchwork of state-specific regulations that lead to carriers unwittingly...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   U.S. House Committee Advances National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act   Friday, October 14, 2011   This 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...

How do you outgun the NRA? Very, very carefully. Mark Pryor knows all about that. The Democratic senator from pro-gun Arkansas was nowhere to be seen on the Senate floor during Wednesday's showdown over a proposal, championed by the National Rifle Association, that would have gutted state gun-control laws across the nation. Toward the end of the vote, Pryor entered the chamber through the back door, took a few steps inside, flashed a thumbs-down to the clerk, and retreated as fast and furtively as somebody dodging gunfire. Several minutes later, the Democrats had racked up more than enough votes to...

WASHINGTON — On the surface, it looks like it's been a bad month for gun-rights groups. First, the Senate narrowly defeated an attempt to allow Americans with concealed-weapons permits to carry their firearms across state lines. Then Second Amendment advocacy organizations pressed senators to oppose Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, only to see more than a dozen gun-rights backers support President Barack Obama's choice. Despite the setbacks, however, there's little gloom among gun-rights advocates. And the reason is simple: These tough battles are helping them separate politicians who are merely strong supporters of gun rights and those who are 100...

Commenting about the recent shooting at a fitness center near Pittsburgh in which three women were killed and nine others wounded by a gunman who then killed himself, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert writes: We’ve seen this tragic ritual so often that it has the feel of a formula. A guy is filled with a seething rage toward women and has easy access to guns. The result: mass slaughter. ... Herbert is right about one thing: Men are much likelier to commit violent crimes – as well as gun homicides – than women. ... Unfortunately - and predictably -...

John Lott [author of More Guns, Less Crime; senior research scientist, University of Maryland]: "By a 58 to 39 majority, the US Senate voted last week to let concealed handgun permit holders carry handguns across state lines. Yet, it was two votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. The legislation sponsored by Senator John Thune (R, SD) would have allowed reciprocity in permitting, as anybody would still be required to obey the laws of the states that they travel in. This is the same way driver's licenses work. The legislation before the senate doesn't really break...

Have a concealed weapon permit? If you're traveling across state lines, you might want to leave your weapon home. Gun owners allowed to carry a concealed weapons in their home states can't legally carry them across state lines despite the efforts of Sen. John Thune. Thune introduced legislation that would have allowed the legal transport of concealed weapons across state lines - provided the gun owner followed state laws concerning weapons. Thune garnered decent support for the legislation including that of Sen. Tim Johnson. It was a common sense bill defeated by an emotional argument. In truth, if a gun...

Alan Gura [Partner, Gura & Possessky, PLLC]: "Gun rights opponents at last have cause to rejoice. Only 58 members of a lop-sided Democratic-controlled Senate approved of a provision mandating that states give full faith and credit to each other's gun-carry permits. The laws of forty-eight states, at least in theory, allow their peaceable citizenry to carry guns in public for self-defense. Forty of these states either require no license to do so, or issue such licenses as a matter of routine upon meeting basic qualifications. Even in the small minority of hold-out states, gun carry licenses are often available...

In a rare win for gun control advocates, the Senate on Wednesday rejected a measure allowing a person with a concealed weapon permit in one state to also hide his firearm when visiting another state. The vote was 58-39 in favor of the provision establishing concealed carry permit reciprocity in the 48 states that have concealed weapons laws. That fell two votes short of the 60 needed to approve the measure, offered as an amendment to a defense spending bill. Opponents prevailed in their argument that the measure violated states rights by forcing states with stringent requirements for permits to...