With the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court in safely conservative hands, the National Rifle Association is trading in their defensive posture of the last eight years for a renewed push for positive, Second Amendment-affirming policies that will broaden the gun rights of the American people. And one of the top items on their agenda is a national reciprocity bill that would allow concealed-carry permit holders from one state to travel to another without fear of prosecution.
At the annual NRA Liberty convention last week, President Trump reassured attendees that they didn’t need to worry about the federal government infringing on gun rights.
“No longer will federal agencies be coming after law-abiding gun owners,” Trump said. “No longer will the government be trying to undermine your rights and your freedoms as Americans. Instead, we will work with you, by your side.”
What a refreshing change of rhetoric from the last eight years!
But the NRA is hoping that the president’s pro-gun agenda won’t be limited to the negative – while it’s a great thing for the American people if Trump will simply STOP doing the things that Obama was pushing for, our current Republican leadership has the chance to do so much more. And the NRA wants them to make the most of that opportunity by pushing for national reciprocity.
“If 10 states made it a felony to read The New York Times, the media would run the story 24/7 until Congress fixed the assault on the First Amendment,” the gun lobby said in a recent advertisement. “But when 10 states criminalize the Second Amendment, the media says nothing.”
Even that, as powerful as it sounds, understates the truth. The media hasn’t just said “nothing,” it has gone out of its way to praise states like California, New York, and Illinois, where it is harder for law-abiding citizens to get a gun than to get illegal drugs. This, despite the fact, that many of these strict, anti-gun states harbor cities that are awash in gun-related murders.
Oh, but of course that’s the fault of neighboring states with loose gun laws…even though those states don’t have gun violence problems themselves. See, doesn’t it all make sense? See why we have to punish lawful, concealed-carry permit holders? They might take it upon themselves to drive up to Chicago and just start shooting up the place. It’s all so logical and sensible…
National reciprocity is not a radical idea. It’s nothing more or less than common sense. If Democrats weren’t so hell-bent on opposing any legislation that strengthens the Second Amendment, this bill would be a no-brainer. And if they want to start taking back the Midwestern blue states that Trump yanked from them last November, this wouldn’t be the worst place to begin.
