Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Bill de Blasio are fighting against legislation that would recognize national concealed carry reciprocity for law-abiding citizens.
The legislation, H.R. 38, was introduced by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) on January 3, 2017. It makes the concealed carry license of one state valid in the other 49 states, just as a driver’s license from one state is valid in the other 49.
National reciprocity picked up new momentum following the June 14 Alexandria congressional baseball practice attack. That attack highlighted that the current patchwork of concealed carry laws prevents law-abiding members of Congress and congressional staffers from keeping guns in their cars or on their persons for self-defense as they travel in and out of D.C. Yet during a June 27 meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Emanuel and de Blasio fought against national reciprocity for law-abiding Americans.
According to the NRA, Emanuel and de Blasio led the group to conclude that the tenets of national reciprocity “are completely antithetical to all of the efforts to reduce and prevent gun violence.”
Emanuel did not mention how unsuccessful his efforts to “prevent gun violence” have been in Chicago, where the knee-jerk response to street crime and gang killings has been increased gun control on law-abiding citizens. As a result of such an approach, citizens in the Windy City, including concealed carry permit holders residing in states other than Illinois, are at the mercy of criminals. Rep. Hudson’s national reciprocity legislation would immediately make Chicago safer for out-of-state visitors with a concealed carry permit, but Emanuel is not interested.
Politico reports that Hudson responded to the Conference of Mayors’ condemnation of national reciprocity by suggesting the mayors do not understand the bill. Hudson explained that the mayors believe the bill gives concealed carriers the ability to ignore all local laws, to carry when and how they want at all times.
In reality, H.R. 38 requires that concealed carriers follow the laws of each state. This means concealed carriers would be permitted to carry their guns in restaurants that serve alcohol in some states but not in others. It means they would be able to carry in state government buildings in some states but not in others. It means they would be able to carry on public college and university campuses in some states but not in others. It will be the responsibility of the concealed carrier to know the laws of each state.
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.
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