The Republican-controlled Congress and the National Rifle Association (NRA) are preparing to pursue a slate of pro-gun bills once President-Elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.
One such bill would be national reciprocity for concealed carry permit holders. The Wall Street Journal quotes the NRA’s Jennifer Baker, who said, “People are turned into criminals because of the confusing patchwork of laws around this country. Law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise their constitutional right regardless of what state they’re sitting in.”
The NRA’s push for national reciprocity is complimented by Gun Owners of America’s pursuit of the same goal, which means the two most powerful groups in the fight for gun rights will be united in making a concealed carry permit from any state valid in every state. Two national reciprocity bills have already been put forward.
Another pro-gun pursuit would be to loosen restrictions on firearm suppressors.
Suppressors–a.k.a., silencers–are legal in the majority of states but the process of acquiring them is time-consuming and expensive due to federal involvement. Suppressor sales are handled under the auspices of the National Firearms Act, which requires would-be buyers to be fingerprinted, photographed, and to go through a background check and pay a $200 federal tax. It also requires the suppressor to be registered. The entire process takes four to six months.
But the number one and most urgent pursuit will be to secure a pro-Second Amendment Supreme Court replacement for Antonin Scalia.
WSJ reports that Trump “released the names of 21 possible appointments during the campaign, none of which the NRA views as ‘non-starters.'” But the NRA does have preferences, one of whom “is Judge Bill Pryor, of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, who as attorney general of Alabama was an ardent advocate of an individual’s right to own weapons.”
Beyond national reciprocity, suppressor deregulation, and securing a pro-gun Supreme Court justice, the NRA and Republicans will push to roll back gun controls President Obama secured via executive orders.
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.