A citizen’s self-defense gun-rights group recently pointed to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as the reason why a national concealed-carry reciprocity bill has stalled, despite widespread support. And the group is trying to dial up pressure to get the bill moving again.
An alert from the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) read, “It appears to be a bad case of weakness of the knees. The Republicans were put into power to move forward an agenda that was sold to the American public. That includes national reciprocity and the hearing protection act, to name but a few. That was the deal, and the President said, and repeated, that he would sign such bills. We need to demand leadership from Ryan, not capitulation to the enemies of freedom.”
The alert then quotes an article by Breitbart’s AWR Hawkins saying, “National Reciprocity was introduced by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) on January 3, 2017 and Gun Owners of America reported that it had 199 co-sponsors by June 21, 2017. Yet Second Amendment supporters have seen no action on the bill from Ryan or Congressional leadership.” The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would require each state to honor another state’s concealed carry permits, reached 200 co-sponsors.
“I think what happened in Alexandria sharpened people’s resolve to make sure this right is protected,” said Representative Richard Hudson, Republican of North Carolina, who introduced the bill in January.
To begin building political pressure, VCDL has posted an online petition to gather signatures:
National Reciprocity for the Nation’s 17 Million Concealed Handgun Permit Holders!
Mr. President, you have said many times that you would sign a national concealed carry reciprocity bill. Please urge Congress to pass H.R. 38 as soon as possible!
H.R. 38 will allow America’s 17 million concealed handgun permit holders to carry in every state in the Union as they go about their lives. As the recent shooting in Alexandria shows, crime and terrorism have no borders. Neither should self-defense!
No other group is as law-abiding as concealed handgun permit holders, regardless of which state they are from.
Currently over 20 states, such as Virginia, North Carolina, and Arizona, already honor permits from all other states, without issue. H.R. 38 will simply make such recognition uniform across the nation and will save many innocent American lives!
Click here to read the petition online.
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