With president-elect Donald Trump headed toward a January 20, 2017 inauguration, one thing is certain–national reciprocity for concealed carry will have a friend in the White House.
On September 18, 2015, Breitbart News reported Trump’s conviction that “concealed carry…is a right, not a privilege.” He used a policy position paper to explain that national reciprocity needs to succeed, saying:
The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state. If we can do that for driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.
Trump’s support for national reciprocity coincides with HR 923; a national reciprocity push from Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Representative Marlin Stutzman (R-IN-3rd). The push is a major facet of Gun Owners of America’s (GOA) plan not simply to hold ground, but to expand the territory held.
Breitbart News previously talked with GOA executive director Erich Pratt about HR 923, and he said:
Concealed carry reciprocity legislation could begin moving in Congress real soon. So it’s important for gun owners to contact their representatives and urge them to co-sponsor HR 923, the measure which establishes reciprocity and safeguards Constitutional Carry.
Gun owners shouldn’t have to ask for permission to exercise their constitutionally protected rights. And that’s the beauty of HR 923. If it passes, all concealed carriers — even those from permitless carry states — will not have to fear prosecution when traveling with firearms from coast-to-coast.
The idea that “gun owners shouldn’t have to ask permission to exercise their constitutionally protected rights” perfectly aligns with Trump’s assessment that “concealed carry…is a right, not a privilege.” And it serves to level the playing field between law-abiding citizens and criminals by drastically reducing the number of places/states in which citizens must walk about unarmed, therefore defenseless.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.