Thirty-two Republican Senators are sponsoring national reciprocity legislation for law-abiding citizens traveling outside their home state with a concealed handgun.
The legislation is titled, Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, and was introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). The 31 co-sponsors are John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), John Kennedy (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), David Perdue (R-GA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jim Risch (R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
Breitbart News has a press release on the legislation in which Cornyn is quoted saying:
This bill focuses on two of our country’s most fundamental constitutional protections– the Second Amendment’s right of citizens to keep and bear arms and the Tenth Amendment’s right of states to make laws best-suited for their residents. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this important legislation for law-abiding gun owners nationwide.
The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act “allows law-abiding citizens to exercise their fundamental right to self-defense while they are traveling or temporarily living away from home.” It does this by allowing “individuals with concealed carry privileges in their home state to conceal carry in any other states that also allow concealed carry.”
The Act explicitly “treats state-issued concealed carry permits like drivers’ licenses,” making them valid throughout the country as citizens travel from one state to the next.
On September 18, 2015, Breitbart News reported President Trump’s contention that concealed carry licenses should be treated like driver’s licenses and recognized throughout the country. He said:
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.
On January 3, 2019, Breitbart News reported that Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced national reciprocity legislation in the House. He introduced similar legislation on January 3, 2017, and it passed in the House but companion national reciprocity legislation was not given a vote in the Senate.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment. 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.
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