5 reasons to support National Reciprocity
Friday, April 14, 2017
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1. Exercising a right shouldn’t
be contingent upon what state you’re in.
This seems like it would be obvious. Sadly, it’s not. The Supreme Court affirmed in 2008 that Americans have a constitutionally-protected individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms for self-defense. What’s more, no state can deny a Constitutional right. All national reciprocity means is that state governments must respect non-residents’ right to carry a firearm for self-defense to the same degree as residents of the state. And despite rumors to the contrary, national reciprocity legislation would not dictate to states how and where residents could carry concealed. Non-residents would also have to abide by state regulations governing behavior and places of carry.
This seems like it would be obvious. Sadly, it’s not. The Supreme Court affirmed in 2008 that Americans have a constitutionally-protected individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms for self-defense. What’s more, no state can deny a Constitutional right. All national reciprocity means is that state governments must respect non-residents’ right to carry a firearm for self-defense to the same degree as residents of the state. And despite rumors to the contrary, national reciprocity legislation would not dictate to states how and where residents could carry concealed. Non-residents would also have to abide by state regulations governing behavior and places of carry.
2. You don’t want to be an
accidental criminal.
Ever of heard of Brian Fletcher? How about Raymond Hughes and Meredith Graves? Each one of them has something in common: They are
concealed carriers-turned-accidental criminals because they carried their
legally-owned firearms into a state without reciprocity.
Brian Fletcher was a utility
repairman who traveled from North Carolina to New Jersey with his legally-owned
firearm to do disaster relief work. After volunteering the information about
his gun to a police officer in New Jersey, he was arrested and subsequently
faced five years in prison.
Raymond Hughes, a corrections
officer, was simply traveling through New Jersey when a drunk driver sent him
to the emergency room. He had his legally-owned firearm in the car, but because
New Jersey doesn’t recognize non-resident carry permits, Hughes was charged
with a Class 2 felony.
A similar story happened to Meredith
Graves. A registered nurse and concealed carrier, Graves left her handgun in
her purse while visiting the 9/11 memorial. When she left New York, she left
with a misdemeanor weapons charge added to her record.
These are only a few stores, but
they represent many, many instances of law-abiding gun owners getting caught up
in the confusing patchwork of reciprocity laws we currently have in the United
States.
3. Concealed carry permit holders
are among the most law-abiding citizens in the country.
Yes, it’s true. A 2014 study from
the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) showed that roughly 11 million
Americans have concealed carry permits, up from an estimated 8 million in 2011.
Today, the number is closer to 15 million. The CPRC also examined permit
holders in Florida and Texas. Between 2008 and 2014, Florida had an average of
875,000 active permit holders. Its permit revocation rate during those years
(i.e., the rate of concealed carriers who had their permits revoked due to
firearm-related offenses) was a staggering…wait for it…0.00007%.
The rate of concealed carriers
convicted of crimes was similarly low in Texas, a state that had 584,850 active
permit holders in 2012. Of those, only 0.021% were convicted of a misdemeanor
or a felony.
The bottom line? Concealed carry permit holders have overwhelmingly proven to be responsible and law-abiding. And they’re certainly not out there turning American communities into the Wild, Wild West.
The bottom line? Concealed carry permit holders have overwhelmingly proven to be responsible and law-abiding. And they’re certainly not out there turning American communities into the Wild, Wild West.
4. Reciprocity laws can change
frequently with little notice…
Which leads us back to the part
about otherwise law-abiding gun owners becoming accidental criminals. When laws
change with little public notice, it’s difficult to know when or how you’d run
afoul of them.
It does happen: In 2012 for example,
the state of Delaware, under the direction of then-attorney general Beau Biden,
dropped reciprocity with concealed carriers from Virginia. In 2015, Virginia
Attorney General Mark Herring announced his state would stop recognizing
permits from 25(!) other states.
And while it is up to each
individual gun owner to stay on top of state gun laws, if you’ve been legally
carrying your concealed handgun from Virginia to Delaware for 10 years and
didn’t know about changes in reciprocity coming down the pipeline, it’s
understandable that you’d make that additional trip without checking.
Again: it’s easy for well-intentioned
people to get caught up in legal troubles when we’re talking about a patchwork
of state laws that can change with little notice.
5. Law-abiding concealed carriers
can protect YOU in all 50 states.
As much as gun control advocates
like to argue that there’s no such thing as a “good guy with a gun,” mountains
of evidence say otherwise.
Just last June, headlines swept the
nation of a concealed carrier who stopped a mass shooter outside a nightclub in
South Carolina, potentially saving dozens of lives. And who could forget the
Minnesota mall stabbing spree last September? He too, was stopped by a
law-abiding concealed carrier. Then in January, when two armed men tried to rob
a jewelry store in a mall in San Antonio, Texas, they were stopped by concealed
carrier. The armed men had already shot and killed an innocent bystander. Who
knows what would have happened if the gun owner hadn’t stepped in?
These are just a few stories, but
there are many more out there. The truth is responsible, law-abiding concealed
carriers are an added layer of protection for ALL of us. Unfortunately, too
many states make it difficult or impossible for gun owners to carry concealed —
let alone across state lines. In this uncertain world, the last thing states
should do is disarm law-abiding gun owners. That doesn’t make anyone safer. But
you know what will? Empowering gun owners with the freedom to exercise their
right to defend their life and the lives of those around them — no matter what
state they’re in.
Watch the video if you wonder what this is about.
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