Mitch McConnell Has Ignored National Concealed Carry Reciprocity for Over a Year

National reciprocity for concealed carry was put forward in the Senate on March 1, 2017, and as of today, March 7, 2018, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has remained mum on it.

In other words, he has effectively ignored it for over a year.

National reciprocity was introduced in the House on January 3, 2017. It passed 48 weeks later, on December 6, after conservatives rallied to overcome Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) stonewalling of the measure. But the push for national recognition of concealed carry permits remains stalled in the Senate.

The left opposes national reciprocity and uses a relentless disinformation campaign to prevent passage of it.

For example, Gabby Giffords’ gun control group suggests that national reciprocity would “[create] a dangerous threat to public safety by forcing states with strong concealed carry laws to honor permits from states with weak or non-existent concealed carry laws.” And the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence describes national reciprocity as “arm anyone” legislation.

In reality, national reciprocity deals with concealed carry permit holders who must currently navigate a cumbersome patchwork of concealed carry laws in order to keep a gun on their persons for self-defense. It corrects the cumbersome patchwork by replacing it with federal recognition of concealed permits, honoring such permits nationwide in a manner similar to driver’s licenses.

And because concealed carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding of law-abiding citizens, the benefits of having them armed extend far beyond the safety of the concealed carrier himself.

President Trump voiced support for national reciprocity on the campaign trail and the House has already passed national reciprocity legislation. Now the common man waits for McConnell to act for national reciprocity and make self-defense a nationwide reality.

To date, McConnell has allowed the Senate’s national reciprocity legislation to languish for over a year.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for 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.