Senate Considers Concealed Weapons Amendment

(CBS/AP)

The Senate begins debating an amendment Monday that would allow people issued concealed weapons permits in their home state to carry those concealed weapons in any state in the union.

The amendment to the defense authorization bill is sponsored by Republican South Dakota Sen. John Thune, who says it "enables citizens to protect themselves while respecting individual state firearms laws." A release from Thune's office claims that "states with concealed carry laws enjoy significantly lower violent crimes rates than those states that do not."

The release also says that those who leave their home state with concealed weapons would still have to follow gun laws in other states, "including laws concerning specific types of locations in which firearms may or may not be carried."

In response to the introduction of the amendment, families of the victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings placed a full-page ad in the Richmond Times-Dispatch urging Virginia's two senators, Jim Webb and John Warner, to oppose it.

The ad says the amendment would make some of the gun laws the families have been fighting for "meaningless by forcing our law enforcement to honor permits from states with weaker rules."

It notes, among other examples, that Virginia will not issue a concealed weapons permit to those who have received residential mental health or substance abuse treatment in the past five years, unlike some other states.

In New York, which has relatively strict gun laws, Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer is also speaking out against the amendment.

"Right now you walk down the streets in New York or Nassau County or Westchester County, you can have the solace of knowing that if someone has a gun on them, they've gone through a rigorous background check," he said at a Sunday news conference. "After this law, you can have no such comfort."

A group called the Violence Policy Center released a study Monday saying that "concealed handgun permit holders killed at least seven police officers and 44 private citizens in 31 incidents during the period May 2007 through April 2009." There have been three mass shootings carried out by concealed weapon permit holders, according to gun control groups.

Thune's amendment is cosponsored by 12 Republicans – John Barasso (Wyo.), Robert Bennett (Utah), Tom Coburn (Okla.), John Cornyn (Texas), John Ensign (Nev.), Michael Enzi (Wyo.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Judd Gregg (N.H.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Pat Roberts (Kan.), and David Vitter (La.) – and one Democrat, Mark Begich (Ark.).

Illinois and Wisconsin do not issue concealed weapon permits, while 31 of the states that do issue them require some safety training before issuing them and do not allow alcohol abusers to have them, according to the Washington Post. Some states already have reciprocity agreements regarding their differing concealed weapons laws.

In an editorial, the Post calls the prospect of the amendment's passage "frightening" and says it would make the streets more dangerous.

"Conservatives usually argue against the federal government telling states what they can and can't do," the editorial argues. "If approved, the Thune amendment would trample all over the rights of states and cities to enforce reasonable restrictions on gun ownership."

[ljonas1]

Women tend to understand the need for self-defense on a very personal level. For example, it can be very frightening for a woman to travel alone. She should not have to worry about whether or not she can protect herself when she crosses over a state line.

My daughter was at Virginia Tech when the shootings occurred. She was absolutely traumatized by the fact that something like this could happen at her school. She cried for months. She couldn't understand how he could kill so many people and that they all had to wait for somebody to come from the outside to stop him. Nobody on campus could do a thing.

NOBODY should ever be left defenseless.

[courtbuster]

When will people understand that you have to protect yourself from BOTH the criminals of the official and unofficial type? America has become a place where the lines between the good guys and the bad are getting pretty fuzzy. Hey just surf the net and you will see what I mean. The police are not obligated to ?protect? any individual man or woman and that is what the Courts say. The people who do not like guns are usually the same officials who will tell you to run out the back door of your home when the bad guys kick in the front door. Or tell a woman she should submit to a rape and cooperate with the slime ball. The bottom line is as a citizen you either have a right to carry a gun and protect yourself or as a resident and you do not. And as a citizen you do not have to ask for ?government? approval to exercise it. I do not know what guys like Bloomberg are crying about as they sold their States out a long time ago by accepting Federal fund for their silly programs. Try and read the New York Constitution, it reads like a corporate charter. No rights here. And to the guy who quoted ?44 private citizens in 31 incidents during the period May 2007 through April 2009." There have been three mass shootings carried out by concealed weapon permit holders?. I wonder how many ?licensed? drivers were involved in fatal accidents in the same time frame. Another rocket scientist?.

[Burddog7]

Some of the people commenting here are failing to recognize the fact that criminals are already carrying guns by the thousands in every state. They don't bother with permits of any kind. At least those who make an effort to obey the laws of their respective states by obtaining a lawful permit to carry should be allowed to travel freely to other states. You can be sure that the criminals already do!

"Hoplophobia"

Firearms instructor Colonel Jeff Cooper coined the word in 1962 to describe a "mental disturbance characterized by irrational aversion to weapons". Cooper employed the term as an alternative to slang terms, stating: "We read of 'gun grabbers' and 'anti-gun nuts' but these slang terms do not (explain this behavior)." Cooper attributed this behavior to an irrational fear of firearms and other forms of weaponry. He stated that "the most common manifestation of hoplophobia is the idea that instruments possess a will of their own, apart from that of their user."

Roger B.
Iowa

[raybury]

Wrong Chuckie, the streets of New York only give comfort to criminals, because they know that local law-abiding folks are unlikely to be armed and out-of-staters cannot be at all.

[lf1952]

The data is clear - people with concealed permits almost NEVER commit crimes.
The existing reciprocity agreements have shown NO evidence of causing problems.
All the predictions of shootings after concealed permits became common have been proven false.
In Florida, car-jacking went from common to almost zero with a simple measure - non-resident concealed permits.
This amendment is a NO risk action and will make life much easier on those who carry. For example, when I drive from Norfolk to Pennsylvania next month, I will have to stop, unload my weapon and put it in the trunk going through Maryland. WHAT does that accomplish?

[Wolf1944]

In Florida alone, over 1400 people with concealed permits have confessed to various crimes. Is that "almost never?"

[robaresea]

The benefit of the Thune/Vitter legislation is that -- unlike other, competing measures -- it would protect the right of any U.S. citizen to carry out of state (regardless of whether he possesses a permit), as long as he is authorized to carry in his home state. This is important because of states like Vermont and Alaska, where residents can carry concealed without prior approval or permission from the state... in other words, without a permit!

[richarcm]

Gun ownership is not meant to be delegated to the states being that it was inscribed in the Constitution as an unalienable and fundamental right. States also do not have the power to take away your freedom of speech. It is protected by the Constitution as well. The fact that we have to fight the rogue states that wish to take away your right to self defense is what we should not HAVE to be doing because the Constitution guarantees that right as fundamental.

[War919]

Do not even get me started on the nonsense Sotomayor will be introducing with her opinions on the matter! There is nothing we can do to stop that trainwreck!

[War919]

Again from Wolf,

Maybe you would like to start spouting the statistics of crimes that are committed each year with unregistered, stolen, illegally acquired weapons? Perhaps you can relate to us the number of citizens in the area of these tragedies who were unarmed and thus unable to stop a nut job from harming others? If you truly believe that regulating weapons and preventing honest people from owning them will stop the crimes and atrocities that occur in our world you are a sad, delusional, frightened little person.

Maybe we should talk to the survivors of all the various groups of people who have suffered near genocide at the hands of dictators about the issues here. Maybe you can provide some reassurance to those who endured the Khmer Rouge, or those folks from Darfur or Bosnia or Rwanda, etc... Maybe the thousands upon thousands who have died because they did not have the RIGHT or the means to bear arms in defense of themselves and those they loved can take solace from the fact that you are outraged that registered gun owners commit crimes.

The very facts that you are spouting prove that gun control and registration do nothing positive and in fact serve to blind people to basic truths that any primary school child knew a hundred years ago.

Naive children who live in a bubble should keep their petulant tongues, until they learn to see the world around them as it really is, rather than as they wish it would be.

[War919]

Fedup,

I like what they have done, but rules of interstate commerce should never be used to bypass our rights. It is sad that this can only apply to weapons manufactured in that state. It is a great beginning though. The abrogation of our civil liberties must be stopped, and if we lose our 2nd ammendment guarantees, those abrogations will move forward with alarming rapidity.

If only more states and people would realize the simple truth and reality that this speaks to. Rather, they choose to behave in a submissively reactionary way to every left wing idea that ever came out of socialism, fascism and communism to be spouted by today's misguided liberals.

I think it was Thomas Paine who wrote, "The only job of government is to aid in protecting us from others. Government goes astray when it starts trying to protect us from ourselves."