Seventeen Attorneys General Released a Letter Opposing “Concealed Carry Reciprocity,” Including Attorney General Rosenblum
Law Enforcement Organizations Making up the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence and Bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors Have Also Opposed “Concealed Carry Reciprocity”
SALEM, Ore. – Volunteers with the Oregon chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety released the following statement today, applauding Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum for joining a group of seventeen attorneys general in 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 ANDREA PLATT, VOLUNTEER WITH THE OREGON CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“I applaud Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum for rejecting the NRA’s agenda and opposing ‘concealed carry reciprocity.’ This reckless piece of legislation is the gun lobby’s longtime priority and would completely gut Oregon’s gun laws. What’s more, it would force Oregon to accept the concealed carry standards of every other state, even the states with no standards – stripping the power from our local and state police to set public safety standards for who may carry a hidden, loaded weapon.”
“Oregon doesn’t allow people recently convicted of violent misdemeanor crimes to obtain a permit and requires gun safety training. However, 23 states allow people to carry even if they’ve recently been convicted of a violent misdemeanor crime, and 19 states don’t require any training. For example, Oregon’s neighbor, Idaho, allows people convicted of violent misdemeanor crimes to carry. Idaho also doesn’t require a permit or any gun safety training. Oregon also enables law enforcement to block concealed carry by people with dangerous red flags in their history, such as domestic disturbances or assault arrests, but 25 states, including Oregon’s neighbors Idaho and Washington, do not allow permits to be denied based on these dangerous red flags. Under concealed carry reciprocity, people in a dozen states that don’t even require permits for a person to concealed carry could carry hidden, loaded guns in Oregon, and in all 50 states.
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.”