Pro-Second Amendment legislation should get a push when the new Congress convenes in January, 2017, after more than a dozen Republican House members revived the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus (CSAC).
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky will chair the group, which issued a statement that “Caucus members will lead efforts in the House of Representatives to pass meaningful firearms legislation and protect Americans against infringements of the Second Amendment.”
CSAC will have an early opportunity to do just that as a champion of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which will reportedly be sponsored by North Carolina Congressman Richard Hudson. In announcing his plan to submit the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, Hudson wrote:
“Our Second Amendment right doesn’t disappear when we cross state lines, and I plan to introduce legislation in the first days of the 115th Congress to guarantee that. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 is a common sense bill to provide law-abiding citizens the right to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits. As a member of President-elect Trump’s Second Amendment Coalition, I look forward to working with the administration to advance policies that support and protect our right to keep and bear arms.”
Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, has already issued several recommendations to Trump and the upcoming GOP-controlled Congress, including national concealed carry reciprocity or recognition.
Other gun-related issues the Caucus may face include:
- Allowing concealed carry on military bases;
- Preventing the Veteran’s Administration from arbitrarily disarming veterans it deems troubled;
- Legalizing short-barreled rifles;
- Passing a National Hearing Protection Act to legalize suppressors;
- Restoring the importation of historically valuable firearms from WWII and Korea;
- Rescinding U.S. participation in the United Nation’s Arms Trade Treaty; and
- Upgrading and fixing the National Instant Check System in conjunction with mental health reform.
There are certain to be many more pro-gun related pieces of legislation introduced as the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress take office in January. — by Michael Wisdom, Senior Contributing Editor, Texas & U.S. Law Shield Blog
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