Three days ago, The New York Times pronounced that The Highest Court in the Nation™ “misread” the Second Amendment when they ruled that the right to keep and bear arms was an individual right. So the Florida legislature had no business enforcing a 1987 law prohibiting cities and counties from passing local gun control regulations. Today, All The News That Fits throw a hissy fit about the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. “This trashing of state and local prerogatives is not only unwise but unnecessary. In its wrongheaded 2008 decision recognizing an individual’s Second Amendment right to keep guns in the home for self-defense, the Supreme Court still left room for reasonable gun limits, including restrictions on toting concealed weapons.” Well . . .

 If I read the bill (and Nick Leghorn’s interpretation) correctly, H.R.822 would let holders of an out-of-state concealed carry weapons license carry a firearm in any state that allows concealed carry. But just as RI driver must obey Massachusetts driving laws, a Bay State concealed carry license holder must obey The Ocean State’s ban on shooting Rhode Island Red Chickens after dark near a public highway or within 500 feet of a Dell’s lemonade stand. Or something like that.

Where’s the beef? H.R.822 wouldn’t impose any minimum state-wide qualification procedure.

Every state but Illinois makes some allowance for concealed weapons. The eligibility rules vary widely and each state decides whether to honor another state’s permits. For example, 38 states prohibit people convicted of certain violent crimes like assault or sex crimes from carrying concealed guns. At least 36 states set a minimum age of 21; 35 states require gun safety training.

The proposed National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 would shred those standards and the public safety judgments behind them, creating a locked-and-loaded race to the bottom in which states with strict requirements, like New York, would be forced to allow people with permits from states with lax screening to carry hidden loaded guns.

I love how they do that: insinuate that a New Yorker can actually get a concealed carry permit. You know; once they pass the State’s “stringent standards.” In fact, the Big Apple’s standards are so high that only politicians and their pals get a gatt.

The Times reckons if H.R.822 passes bad things will happen. “The bill’s nationalization of lenient concealed-carry rules would increase gun violence [from out-of-staters] and hinder efforts to combat illegal gun trafficking [by making cops check on the validity of out-of-state gun licenses].”

And there’s a bigger danger. If New York, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, etc. let the ballistic barbarians in the gate—and nothing happens— in-state residents will scream “Where MY Glock 30SF?” They’ll force their state to lower their standards. More and people will get guns. I’ll be a race to the bottom of the see I told you so.

Only thing is: concealed carry firearms licensees tend to be a relatively safe, decidedly non-criminal class of people, even when they’re given no mandatory training whatsoever. And more gun equals less crime, even if the owners are a bit of a Doofenshmirtz.

The Times’ postion on National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 reminds me of the old song “Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?” Redone as “Why Can’t All These Pro-Gun State Be More Like New York City?” Same condescending tone, same blindness to the facts of life.

At least we know who wins in the end.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t think this bill has a snowball’s chance in hell of passing. It would be nice, however, to cross the border into Mass from Connecticut and still be able to continue to enjoy my constitutional rights.

    Off topic, Doofinsmirtz? Do you have small children who enjoy Phineas and Ferb as well? It’s not the 1st reference i’ve seen here. 🙂

    1st reply!

  2. Why Can’t All These Pro-Gun State Be More Like New York City?

    Well, aside from the pastrami at the Carnegie Deli, the photos at ICP and the entire RCA Building, there isn’t a whole of things about New York I want out here in the Desert Southwest. Been there, took the pictures, ate the food, like where I live better.

    We have freedom here.

  3. I love how they do that: insinuate that a New Yorker can actually get a concealed carry permit.

    I will personally give a 100 rounds (ala “Name That Gun or Gun Related Thingie”) of his or her choice of ammo if one of the B&B can get a CCW from NYC.*

    *Contest rules and limitations: Eligibility limited to persons who are not: relations of current and former mayors or police commissars; current and former mayors and police commissars; elected or appointed officials of any kind; people that I or a 13 year old girl have ever heard of (i.e. ‘celebrities’); persons with a net worth exceeding 10 million dollars; persons who used to have a net worth exceeding 10 million dollars but then declared bankruptcy (I’m looking at you, Trump); current and former law enforcement officers; anyone else that I (at my sole discretion) deem ineligible; Marylin Monroe; Elvis. 50 BMG is not eligible for the prize but anything else is, so good luck. RF knows how to get in touch with me if you pull it off.

  4. The NYT should be a staple in every bathroom-in case of a tolet paper shortage.
    It’s become an assemblage of lying,anti-American left wing scum.
    Sort of like MSNBC in print.

  5. From a business perspective, it really is incredible how organizations such as the NYT, San Francisco Chronicle, Minnesota Star, etc continue to publish their PC left-wing garbage. The drop in readership and then advertising revenue should have been enough of a wake-up call to upper management that the provided content is increasing losing money for the business. Yet, they often just continue churning out junk. Meanwhile, people are increasingly going to the more specialized micro-media news sites and to private bloggers for the news and information.

  6. “Only thing is: concealed carry firearms licensees tend to be a relatively safe, decidedly non-criminal class of people”. When I took my VA CHP class, we got to spend a few hours with the DA going over the legal aspects of carrying and then had a very informative Q&A session for an hour. One point that he made(as a CHP holder himself) was that handing a CHP to a police officer in the case of a traffic stop or other violation is basically giving the cop a “I have a clean criminal history and am not going to try something stupid or illegal” card. He said that in the case where he did that during a traffic stop, the officer visibly relaxed when he saw the CHP, even though the DA was carrying a firearm. Anyone willing to put himself through the background checking required for a CHP(in VA at least) is not going to be the type of person to ever commit a major crime.

  7. If New York, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, etc. let the ballistic barbarians in the gate—and nothing happens— in-state residents will scream “Where MY Glock 30SF?”

    That’s exactly the point, and why the gun grabbers will fight this bill to the death. Every “restrictive may issue” state will be forced to treat nonresidents better than their own taxpayers, and that just wont fly. So if this bill becomes law, restrictive may issues will have to get real and actually issue some permits, and the Brady Campaign Against America and its ilk will end up taking one center mass.

  8. Small detail, interesting maybe only to legal nerds–the NYT normally advocates supremacy of the federal government over state and local–except when the outcome they want requires the fed to defer to local government…to wit:

    “This trashing of state and local prerogatives is not only unwise but unnecessary….”

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