National reciprocity for concealed carry passed the House of Representatives on December 6 and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded by suggesting Republicans are using the measure to arm “violent criminals.”
She said this even though it is a fact that concealed carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding of law-abiding Americans.
On Dec. 6 Breitbart News reported that Rep. Richard Hudson’s (R-NC) national reciprocity legislation passed the House and was headed to the Senate. The legislation, Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, makes the concealed carry permit of one state valid in the other 49. In other words, it treats a concealed permit like a driver’s license, ensuring that law-abiding citizens are armed so they can defend themselves and their families when criminals and/or terrorists attack.
Law-abiding citizens need to the leeway to be armed because criminals are already armed and frequently use their guns to prey on unarmed innocents.
Nevertheless, Pelosi tweeted:
Two things need to be noted here. Number one, Pelosi’s tweet gives the impression that criminals are waiting for a law to pass so they can be armed. The very suggestion is laughable. Number two, her tweet ignores the fact that concealed carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding of law-abiding citizens.
On July 24, 2017, Breitbart News reported a Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) study showing hard data on the law-abiding nature of concealed carry permit holders in various states around the country. The report included a link to a previous CPRC study which showed that from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2007, the yearly rate of misdemeanors and felonies by full-time police officers was .102 percent. On the other hand, the yearly rate for Texas’ concealed carry permit holders in the year 2015–the year campus carry was signed into law in Texas–was .0102 percent.
The bottom line–Hudson’s national reciprocity legislation has nothing to do with arming criminals. Rather, it is focused on being sure the most law-abiding among us are armed for self-defense should the need arise.
AWR Hawkins is an award winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for the Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange