In a move designed to help the national Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act gain traction in the U.S. Congress, 24 state attorneys general recently sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urging them to move the bill forward.
National Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act
The AGs, led by Oklahoma AG Gentner Drummond and West Virginia AG John. B. McCuskey told House leaders that Congress should pass the bill for the safety of lawful Americans.
“The perspective we offer comes from our experience as the chief law officers of our states, all of which either recognize the right of law-abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns without a permit or grant full recognition to concealed carry credentials issued by other states,” the letter stated.
“Simply put, we know firsthand that recognizing a broad right of concealed carry among law-abiding Americans promotes public safety and respects the fundamental liberties of our constituents. It is with these constituents in mind that we urge Congress to pass H.R. 38.”
Getting The Truth Out
As the AGs pointed out, so-called “mainstream” media often lie about concealed carry and concealed carry legislation. So, they want to set the record straight.
“News reports and commentary sometimes misconstrue what H.R. 38 does and whom it would benefit,” the letter stated. “We therefore believe it is helpful to reiterate certain facts about the legislation.
“First, H.R. 38 is aimed at the law-abiding gun owner. It categorically excludes anyone who is ‘prohibited by Federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm.’ Additionally, anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, is subject to an active domestic violence restraining order, is facing a pending felony indictment, is a fugitive from justice, is present in the country illegally, or is an unlawful user of a controlled substance is excluded. Finally, persons with serious mental health issues, as established by court commitments or adjudications, are also excluded.”
Also in the letter, the AGs explained that most violent criminals don’t just take a trip to the local gun shop, undergo a background check, and buy a firearm they intend to use in a crime.
“Criminals, in our experience, do not wait for permission to carry guns,” they wrote. “H.R. 38 is not for them. It is for honest and law-abiding citizens who deserve to have the means to protect themselves, should they have the misfortune of needing to use a firearm in self-defense or the defense of their loved ones.”
A Constitutional Right
Ultimately, the AGs told Reps. Johnson and Jeffries that Americans have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms. That includes freely traveling from state to state with their lawfully owned firearms.
“Concealed carry is a constitutional right, and it can have substantial public safety benefits by allowing people the means to respond to emergent threats to themselves or others when police are not immediately available to intervene,” the letter concluded.
“Yet our constituents are threatened with arrest, prosecution, and mandatory prison time for technical violations of licensing or possession laws involving conduct that is perfectly legal in all but a handful of states, most of which have well-established history and practice of suppressing the right to keep and bear arms. This is unacceptable, and Congress has the authority and the duty to protect these rights.”
