Friday - November 18, 2011

Conservative Pandering

House passes concealed weapons permit bill

A state permit to carry a concealed firearm would be valid in almost every other state in the country under legislation the House passed Wednesday.

The first pro-gun bill the House has taken up this year and the first since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was severely injured in a gun attack in January, it had the National Rifle Association’s backing and passed by a comfortable margin. The vote was 272-154, with only seven Republicans voting against it and 43 Democrats supporting it.

The Democratic-controlled Senate has no parallel bill. But two years ago, GOP Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and David Vitter of Louisiana nearly succeeded in attaching a similar measure to a larger bill.

Under the House legislation, people with a concealed carry permit in one state could carry a concealed weapon in every other state that gives people the right to carry concealed weapons. While states have various standards for issuing such permits, currently only Illinois and the District of Columbia prohibit the concealed carrying of weapons.

“The Second Amendment is a fundamental right to bear arms that should not be constrained by state boundary lines,” said GOP Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill’s chief co-sponsor, Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., said states should consider concealed carry permits no differently from driver’s licenses recognized by all states. He noted that many states already have reciprocity agreements with other states.

• The Second Amendment already recognizes citizen’s natural right to bear arms. This means anywhere, everywhere, at any time. So this bill is just mouthwash.
• The Second Amendment does not say a single word about “this natural right can only be exercised with the proper government permits, training classes, and psychological exams, and can be limited by time, place, and circumstance at the whim of the government.”
• Article IV Section 1, the “full faith and credit” part of the Constitution, requires states to recognize each others licensing and contracts, so “common sense” would say that “reciprocity” has always existed.
• Without a parallel bill up for vote in the Senate, this vote does NOTHING other than pander to the RKBA crowd, those “bitter clingers”, as we move into an election year.
• The vast majority of states - 39 so far - are already either “shall issue” (35) or “no permit required” (4). Many of those states already have reciprocity agreements with many of the other CCW states.
• CCW is seriously restricted or denied only in the states that are historically highly liberal. California is a mess of local regulations and favoritism. New York’s laws are quite muddy and flat out denied in New York City. New Jersey considers even owning a firearm to be a crime, but will issue CCW to those with lots of money and excellent political connections. I don’t know what the deal is in Alabama and Connecticut, but I’d expect Alabama to have its act together.
• Only Illinois flat out refuses to recognize the Second Amendment in as many ways as it can, and it’s even worse in the city of Chicago and its surrounds.

Had the Supremes made a bolder, more righteous decision in Heller, none of this would be necessary. But while they did kick the ball far down field, they sort of punted at the end. That’s why we’re still going through iterations of idiocy, like this worthless bill.
Many sources covered this story yesterday. If I wasn’t such a cynic I’d be embarrassed at the level of turbo-stupid displayed in the comments at most of them. Instead I’m merely annoyed because I don’t accept those comments as naive. I see them as knowingly misleading. Especially the ones that blather on about “states rights”. Jerks. States have NO rights, only powers. And NO state has the power to ignore the Constitution or any part thereof.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms - in any manner as they desire, whether on their hip or in their pocket - shall not be infringed. “Brandishing” however is a crime when not done for self-defense. And that’s about all there is to it.

Posted by Drew458     on 11/18/2011 at 09:29 AM   
Filed Under: • Government • Guns and Gun Control •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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