Concealed Carry Reciprocity Would Undermine State Gun Laws, Allow People With Dangerous Histories and No Training to Carry Hidden, Loaded Handguns Across Colorado and the Country; Everytown Interactive Map Shows How It Would Make Colorado Less Safe
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Has Announced Six-Figure Ad Campaign to Highlight Rep. Coffman’s Support for “Concealed Carry Reciprocity”
DENVER – Volunteers with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today released the following statement after Rep. Mike Coffman (CO-06) voted “Yes” on H.R. 38, the disastrous “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017,” which passed out of the House of Representatives today.
“Concealed Carry Reciprocity” is a chaotic and dangerous policy that would gut state gun laws and make Colorado communities less safe. Right now, every state sets its own standards for who can carry a hidden, loaded handgun in public, and Colorado standards include obtaining a permit and completing safety training. But concealed carry reciprocity would force each state to recognize the concealed carry standards of every other state, including those states that have dramatically weaker standards, or no standards at all.
Earlier this week, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund announced a six-figure ad campaign in Colorado to highlight Rep. Coffman’s support for “concealed carry reciprocity.”
STATEMENT FROM LYNN BARTA, VOLUNTEER WITH THE COLORADO CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“Instead of listening to the concerns of Coloradans and the law enforcement community, Rep. Coffman voted to undermine Colorado’s public safety laws and make it easy for people with no background check, no permit and no gun safety training to carry concealed guns across Colorado. Here in the Sixth District, we know the toll of gun violence all too well, and we won’t forget that when it came time for Rep. Coffman to pick a side in the fight for public safety, he stood against Colorado’s common-sense gun laws.”
From our nation’s law enforcement community to mayors, opposition to “concealed carry reciprocity” is widespread. Last month, a group of seventeen attorneys general released a letter opposing the policy. The National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, which includes many of the nation’s largest law enforcement organizations, and the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors have also opposed “concealed carry reciprocity.” Earlier this week, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys wrote a letter to Congress urging them to oppose “concealed carry reciprocity.”
Additionally, a Pew survey released in June found that 81 percent of Americans oppose allowing people to carry concealed weapons without a permit. “Concealed carry reciprocity” would force states to allow concealed carry by many people with no permit.