Have gun, will travel: Groups push for states to honor concealed-carry laws

Have gun, will travel: Groups push for states to honor concealed-carry laws

Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, told FoxNews.com that his group is confident it can pass the [House and the] Senate.


Have gun, will travel: Groups push for states to honor concealed-carry laws

Gun-rights groups have high hopes for a new bill looking to grant “national reciprocity” for Americans with concealed firearm permits, introduced just as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. 

The bill, put forward in the new Congress last week by Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., would allow gun owners with a state-issued concealed-carry license to have that license recognized in any other state that allows concealed carry. This also would apply to states that recognize so-called “constitutional carry” where a license is not required for a concealed handgun.

The goal, Hudson says, is to prevent gun owners from getting caught in a patchwork of state-by-state laws.

“Your driver’s license works in every state, so why doesn’t your concealed-carry permit?” Hudson’s office said in an accompanying fact sheet.

The perils that concealed-carry permit holders can face recently were brought to national attention in 2014 when Shaneen Allen, a Philadelphia mother of two, was arrested and faced three years in prison after mistakenly entering New Jersey in possession of a loaded handgun. …

Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, told FoxNews.com that his group is confident it can pass the Senate.

“We think the chances of passing concealed carry reciprocity are very good. The Senate has already voted on similar legislation twice in the past — and both times the bill garnered a large majority,” he said, pointing to amendments in 2009 and 2013 that gained 58 and 57 Senate votes, despite Democratic control of the chamber. 

An aide to Hudson told FoxNews.com that the bill now has 69 co-sponsors in the House, including two Democrats. This may indicate a degree of bipartisan support which could transfer to the Senate

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