2aguy
Diamond Member
- Jul 19, 2014
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This is why we need concealed carry reciprocity...so good people don't lose their lives to stupid laws.....
Opinion | I should be able to carry my concealed gun across all state lines
Now, let’s say I’m carrying my gun in the city and decide to go dinner in Arlington. In order to know Virginia law, I have to check the state police website, which says the state recognizes legal carry permits from any other state. So, I’m cool.
But say my dinner plans change to Bethesda. I check the Maryland State Police website. It takes a couple of clicks to see that the Free State does not recognize carry permits from any other state. I’m a law-abiding permit holder, but if I carry my gun to dinner in Maryland, I could be arrested.
Now let’s say I want to travel a little farther up Interstate 95 to Pennsylvania. The attorney general’s website lists six “categories” for reciprocity. After going through each category, I find that D.C. isn’t listed at all, so I better not take my handgun with me to dinner just north of the Mason-Dixon line.
It’s easy to see how a law-abiding person with a carry permit could easily make a mistake while trying to navigate all these different state laws. As this is a constitutional right, the onus should be on the government, not the citizen.
The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act allows a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun in any other state. The bill says the person must be eligible to possess a gun under federal law, meaning that he or she is not a felon, dangerously mentally ill, a domestic abuser or any of the other disqualifying factors for having a gun.
The bill specifies that a person carrying a concealed gun must have valid photo identification on hand. Also, the person has to have either a valid concealed carry permit or be eligible to carry concealed in his or her state of residence if the state has “constitutional carry” (which means it doesn’t require permits for law-abiding citizens).
A key addition to this bill from previous versions is that if the gun carrier is arrested and charged for carrying in another state, but then found innocent because of this law, the state pays the defendant’s legal fees and the defendant has the right to bring a civil action for damages.
This section is necessary because states like New Jersey and New York are notorious for arresting people who are lawfully transporting guns and pressing charges, which are later dropped based on federal transport laws, while the defendant is responsible for the legal fees, lost wages and expenses.
Opinion | I should be able to carry my concealed gun across all state lines
Now, let’s say I’m carrying my gun in the city and decide to go dinner in Arlington. In order to know Virginia law, I have to check the state police website, which says the state recognizes legal carry permits from any other state. So, I’m cool.
But say my dinner plans change to Bethesda. I check the Maryland State Police website. It takes a couple of clicks to see that the Free State does not recognize carry permits from any other state. I’m a law-abiding permit holder, but if I carry my gun to dinner in Maryland, I could be arrested.
Now let’s say I want to travel a little farther up Interstate 95 to Pennsylvania. The attorney general’s website lists six “categories” for reciprocity. After going through each category, I find that D.C. isn’t listed at all, so I better not take my handgun with me to dinner just north of the Mason-Dixon line.
It’s easy to see how a law-abiding person with a carry permit could easily make a mistake while trying to navigate all these different state laws. As this is a constitutional right, the onus should be on the government, not the citizen.
The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act allows a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun in any other state. The bill says the person must be eligible to possess a gun under federal law, meaning that he or she is not a felon, dangerously mentally ill, a domestic abuser or any of the other disqualifying factors for having a gun.
The bill specifies that a person carrying a concealed gun must have valid photo identification on hand. Also, the person has to have either a valid concealed carry permit or be eligible to carry concealed in his or her state of residence if the state has “constitutional carry” (which means it doesn’t require permits for law-abiding citizens).
A key addition to this bill from previous versions is that if the gun carrier is arrested and charged for carrying in another state, but then found innocent because of this law, the state pays the defendant’s legal fees and the defendant has the right to bring a civil action for damages.
This section is necessary because states like New Jersey and New York are notorious for arresting people who are lawfully transporting guns and pressing charges, which are later dropped based on federal transport laws, while the defendant is responsible for the legal fees, lost wages and expenses.
