Say Uncle links to a poll taken of firearms owners in the Gun Law News which asks which direction should the pro-2A groups head next.
The Results:
Nationwide CCW Reciprocity 43.5%
Repeal of NFA 34 28.4%
Repeal of ’sporting use’ 11.5%
Repeal of the Brady Bill 6.8%
Repeal of the Hughes Amdt 4.3%
Interstate sales of all firearms 4.0%
Other 1.6%
Interstate sales of rifles 0.1%
While each and every one of those are worthy goals that I would like to see happen, I have to agree with the big winner of the group, Nationwide Reciprocity of Concealed Carry Permits.
As a group, firearms owners are at last strong enough to go on the offensive, but we don’t want to go for broke just yet. We need to think a bit smaller than trying to repeal legislation and instead work on enacting new, helpful to the cause legislation, like the right to have my CCW honored by every state in the union, just like my license to drive a car or my marriage license.
Even if we decide against new legislation and instead try the tactic of getting the latest SCOTUS to make it happen, it will be seen as pretty much innocuous by all but the most fervent hoplophobes.
Why do I think this; because when new firearms owners or hunting firearms only owners that I have conversations with ask about concealed carry, they themselves are quite surprised that there is currently little to no reciprocity between states in regards to CCWs.
A push in this direction will help the ownership of firearms for personal protection outside the home so immensely and will also seem like a complete no-brainer to the vast majority of the general public. We would be fools not to try for this in the very near future.
Maybe then after a few years of that we can set about removing the need to photograph, fingerprint and figuratively look up the rectum of every CCW holder by removing the CCWs altogether.
What say ye?
I wholeheartedly agree, get CCW reciprocity first!
What would be my ideal would be a Federal law imposing reciprocity on all states, because of course that would trump any California state statute saying otherwise.
However, the best route for most CCW-holders would probably be a standard reciprocity statute adopted by all states. This happens more often than you might think: organizations such as the NCCUSL (National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) draft up a “model statute” that is then proposed in the various state legislatures. It’s done all the time with business-related statutes, but has expanded to other areas as well.
Why is this a better route, IMHO? Because any Brady-bunch-type political movement trying to dismantle reciprocity would have to go to fifty legislatures, vs. one big Federal legislature. Logistically, it’s just a lot tougher.
Better safe than sorry….