Seventeen Attorneys General Released a Letter Opposing ‘Concealed Carry Reciprocity‘
Law Enforcement Organizations in the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence and the Bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors Have Also Opposed ‘Concealed Carry Reciprocity’
WASHINGTON – Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, today released the following statement applauding a group of seventeen attorneys general for opposing “concealed carry reciprocity” in a letter to Congress released today.
The letter, signed by attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia states in part that, “Rather than creating a new national standard for who may carry concealed firearms, these bills would elevate the lowest state standard over higher ones and force some States to allow concealed carry by people who do not qualify under their laws. … We fear that, if enacted, these bills inevitable will lead to the death of police officers and civilians, the proliferation of gun traffickers, and acts of terrorism and other mass violence.”
Learn more about concealed carry reciprocity here.
STATEMENT FROM JOHN FEINBLATT, PRESIDENT OF EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY:
“Attorneys general understand that the gun lobby’s number one priority, ‘concealed carry reciprocity,’ is an attempt to gut state gun laws that would make our communities less safe. Far from creating a national standard for who can carry a hidden, loaded gun in public, this dangerous proposal would turn the weakest link into the law of the land by forcing every state to accept the concealed carry standards of every other state, no matter how weak or nonexistent those standards may be.”
“Concealed carry reciprocity” would force every state to accept the standards of every other state, including states with much weaker or nonexistent standards. In fact, 12 “permitless carry” states do not even require a permit for a person to carry a concealed weapon in public, while 19 states require no gun safety training. Under current law, every state determines its own standards for concealed carry, and no state should be forced to allow people to carry concealed handguns who otherwise do not meet the standards they have set for themselves.
Since the mass shooting in Las Vegas, the gun lobby has opposed legislation to improve our gun laws, and has instead repeatedly called for Congress to pass its top priority, “concealed carry reciprocity.”