Photo Courtesy of NYPD
The House of Representatives has already approved the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.
By Michael V. Cusenza
With approval from the House of Representatives and the support of President Donald Trump already in pocket, a controversial gun bill has but one hurdle to clear – a forthcoming Senate vote – before it becomes federal law.
And opponents are fuming.
The proposed measure is the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, and it permits an individual with a gun license issued in one state to carry a concealed firearm in any state in the union, regardless of each state’s gun-possession standards and laws.
In recent weeks, myriad elected officials and law-enforcement leaders have railed against groups such as the U.S. Concealed Carry Association and the National Rifle Association, and the bill’s sponsors in Congress. Empire State representatives have been especially vocal about their opposition to the proposed law.
“New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the country,” State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said after the House passed the CCRA in December. “This bill could return New York to the bad old days, by rolling back the protections that have reduced gun-related deaths in New York State to some of the lowest rates in the nation. This lowest-common-denominator approach would undermine states’ basic responsibility to protect our communities – including by determining who may carry a concealed, loaded gun within our borders. It would risk the lives of our families and our law enforcement officers, while facilitating gun trafficking and promoting mass violence. With each tragedy, we lament the loopholes in our federal gun laws. Today, the House just voted to create a huge new one. I urge the Senate to reject this disastrous legislation.”
Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, called the House vote “a watershed moment for Second Amendment rights,” and characterized the CCRA as “the culmination of a 30-year movement recognizing the right of all law-abiding Americans to defend themselves, and their loved ones, including when they cross state lines.”
On “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. and Police Commissioner Jim O’Neill ripped the measure.
“You bring that kind of firepower, even with well-intentioned people, it’s going to be extremely dangerous,” Vance said. “I wouldn’t presume to tell the residents of West Virginia what their gun laws should be…but I don’t think they or Congress should be having West Virginia laws put on New York City.”
As the bill reportedly gains steam in the Senate, Queens DA Richard Brown said “we must do all within our power” to see that it does not become the law of the land.
“For the last 20 years, New Yorkers have witnessed a historical and dramatic drop in violent crime, due in large measure to having among the toughest gun control laws in the nation,” Brown noted. “The enactment of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act has the strong potential of undoing the city’s downward trend in crime by allowing individuals with weapon permits from states with lax gun laws to carry a concealed weapon on our streets, putting both our police and our citizens at risk.”
