Seventeen Attorneys General Released a Letter Opposing “Concealed Carry Reciprocity,” Including Attorney General Bob Ferguson
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”
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Volunteers with the Washington chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety released the following statement today, applauding Attorney General Bob Ferguson 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 SHAWN TERJESON, VOLUNTEER WITH THE WASHINGTON CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“I applaud Attorney General Bob Ferguson for standing with our local law enforcement organizations and mayors in opposition to ‘concealed carry reciprocity.’ Concealed carry reciprocity is the NRA’s number one priority and it does not create a national standard for who can carry a hidden, loaded gun in public. Instead it would endanger Washingtonians by forcing Washington to accept the concealed carry standards of every other state, even states with extremely low standards that do not conduct background checks.”
“Specifically, Washington doesn’t allow abusive boyfriends to carry a concealed weapon if they have a restraining order or after a conviction. However, 16 states, including Washington’s neighbor Idaho, allow domestic abusers to concealed carry even if they have a restraining order and also have a conviction. In fact, Idaho doesn’t even require a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public. 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 Washington, 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.”