Richard Poplawski. Omar Thornton. Paul Michael Merhige. Jason Hamilton. Nidal Malik Hasan. George Sodini. Christopher Speight.
What do these men have in common?
# 1: They all committed mass murder (three or more innocents killed) with guns.
# 2: They were all concealed handgun permit holders.
And they're not alone. Since 2007, at least 19 mass shootings have been perpetrated by individuals who had obtained permits to carry concealed handguns in public.
Today, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 822, the "National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act," and it will almost certainly be passed by the National Rifle Association's allies in that chamber. Having spent the past 25 years gradually weakening laws to the point where even obviously deranged and violent individuals can obtain permits to carry concealed handguns, the "National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act" is the final chute in a slippery slope that will see our nation's gun laws reduced to the lowest common denominator.
H.R. 822, which was drafted by the NRA's lawyers, would force law enforcement to recognize concealed handgun permits issued by other states, including states with extremely weak regulations in regards to screening and training requirements. It would allow individuals with concealed handgun permits to carry loaded handguns when they visit other states even when they do not meet the standards for obtaining a concealed handgun permit -- or even owning a gun -- in the state(s) they are visiting!
How radical and dangerous is this legislation? Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee actually cast votes on October 13 to ensure that the following categories of individuals would be able to carry loaded guns in public in other states under H.R. 822:
Consider, too, that several states require no training whatsoever on the part of residents to obtain a concealed handgun permit. Even those that do require no more than a single day-class of training, and that's typically good for life (no repeat training required when you renew a permit). Virginia's requirement, for example, has been reduced to a one-hour online class. You watch a video and then take a multiple choice test (as many times as you need to get it right). Some of the survivors of the Virginia Tech tragedy who have never even held a handgun in real life were able to pass this "course."
The net result of the "National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act" is to make the weakest state laws in the nation the Law of the Land. Denied a concealed handgun permit in your home state because of your criminal and mental health background? No problem. Thanks to the NRA, you'll now simply be able to mail-order a permit from Utah or Florida (whose screening requirements are an absolute joke) and you're ready to carry -- not just in your home state that determined you were a threat to public safety, but in every other state as well save Illinois (Illinois is the one state exempt from the bill because it has enacted no carry law whatsoever for private citizens).* Worried about not having undergone the licensing and registration process to own (much less carry) a handgun in a given state? No problem. The NRA's bill completely overrides those democratically-enacted laws as well.
We've already had a preview of how H.R. 822 will work in practice. In September of last year, Marqus Hill, a resident of Philadelphia, executed an 18-year-old who allegedly broke into his car, shooting him 13 times on the street. The city of Philadelphia had previously revoked a concealed handgun permit that Hill held in the state of Pennsylvania based on his criminal history. Because of a reciprocity agreement that Pennsylvania signed with Florida, Hill was able to get a permit in the mail from The Sunshine State with no problem.
If the NRA has its way, we'll soon be in the era of Forced Reciprocity, where law enforcement officers nationwide are powerless to disarm individuals like Marquis Hill before they pull the trigger -- even when officers know these trouble makers are packing heat in public spaces.
There's been a lot of attention cast lately on the tin-foil hat statements of NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. The NRA boss told CPAC attendees in the District of Columbia "As soon as you leave this hall, your life is in jeopardy" in February and then followed that up last month with a fairy tale about "a massive Obama conspiracy to deceive voters and hide his true intentions to destroy the Second Amendment in our country."
In truth, though, the NRA's greatest lie is its talking point that gun violence prevention laws in America are a "slippery slope" that will eventually lead to total confiscation of privately held firearms. What an absurdity that is today -- 43 years after the signing of the 1968 Gun Control Act -- as demented individuals like Jared Loughner and Nidal Malik Hasan continue to legally buy guns and carry them in our communities.
The reality is that the slippery slope has been running in the opposite direction the entire time -- toward a future where even the most violent and deranged individuals can legally buy guns, legally carry them on the street, and legally bring them into churches, schools, daycare centers, public transportation, government buildings and the rest of our most sensitive public spaces.
If that vision disturbs and sickens us -- which it should any civilized society -- then turning back the "National Right-to-Carry Act" is a moral imperative and logical first-step.
* Current law allows people denied in their own state to procure one in another state if they meet the eligibility requirement in the other state. Florida and Utah give permits to out of state residents all the time. That would not change under 822. What would change is that states that currently do not have reciprocity with Florida would have to accept that Florida permit even if the holder was not a Florida resident. So for example, if I am a Pennsylvania resident and I am denied a permit in Pennsylvania but get my permit from Florida, I can now carry in any state that has reciprocity with Florida. What HR 822 changes is that now the Federal government would force every other state (except possibly my state of residence) to allow me to carry based on my Florida license.
Follow Josh Horwitz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CSGV
H.R.822 - Bill Text - 112th Congress (2011-2012) - THOMAS ...
H.R.822: National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 - U.S. ...
Rep. McCarthy Proposing Amendments to Stop H.R. 822, National ...
Rep. McCarthy amendments aim to stop H.R. 822, National ...
NRA-ILA :: H.R. 822 -- National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act ...
Even the anti-gun St. Petersburg Times admitted that crime in Florida has DROPPED by 33% since 1999
Gun ban fanatics focus on a few irrelevant cases to bolster thir phoney arguments
This is NOT a news article, but it is an Opinion Piece. P>O>S>
Should be labeled as such.
Chicago has great Ban-firearms-for-citizen rules.......Google their crime.
The main reason Texan Democrats hate Utah CCWPermits, is the money lost to the State.
All boils down to money grubbing liberals.
Of course the NRA members will claim Obama faked this along with his birth certificate and the moon landing. But hey, this will make the case for any sane person.
It’s so bad that they’ve created a Website to track Knife Crimes by the region - http://www.knifecrimes.org/crime-figures.html
Maybe the UK should reevaluate their Handgun Laws and start issuing Concealed Carry Permits ..after all ,no one would bring a knife to a gunfight right ?
Nineteen heinous criminals - out of some 6,000,000 permitted persons. That equates to a fraction so small as to be statistically insignificant. They are aberrations. They are anomalies. They are fuel for people who rely on emotion, not logic as they attempt to guide decisions made by others.
The state(s) Horwitz fear the most, those with the most relaxed standards for obtaining a concealed carry permit, have statistically shown the same general trends toward reductions in murder rates and violent crime rates as those states with the most stringent application processes.
Despite Horwitz's disingenuous attempt to evoke an emotional response with his "nineteen mass murderers" the FACTS are that persons who hold concealed weapons permits are among the most law abiding in the nation. If there were evidence to the contrary I've no doubt he'd post it far and wide. He doesn't because it doesn't exist. Therein, he's guilty of trying to mislead his readers. Don't be duped. Therein, he has no journalistic integrity, just an undeserved paycheck from the 1%er's at the Joyce Foundation.
The national reciprocity act is just common sense. States already recognize each others driver's licences, commercial truck driver's permits, and college degrees, high school diplomas, and birth cirtificates. There is no reason it should be any different for CCW permits. You should not have to surrender your right to protect yourself when visiting a family member across state lines.
The new law doesn't cancel out any state laws. States can still set whatever laws they want in regard to getting a CCW permit, as well as where guns can be carried, and everyone will still have to follow them. It simply requires them to do what they should do, IE respect each other's CCW permits.
It does not matter what your opinion is on this particular bill: anyone who cares about the rule of law and civil liberties should be aghast at the prospect of the use of a secret watch list to abridge the rights of U.S. citizens outside meaningful judicial oversight.
Mind you a universal carry law is in keeping with the wild west approach of America's past and does fit the popular myths.
What is reasonable and effective about a system that burdens lawful citizens without ever solving a crime and thereby contributing to public safety?
The current Conservative government is passing legislation by Christmas 2011 that will end the registration of long guns and will also destroy the records.
Lists of guns are only good for confiscation and have no proven value for safety or law enforcement.
That is why this billion dollar plus boondoggle is being ended after 17 years of no results!
In other words, a statistically irrelevant percentage of concealed carry holders have perpetrated mass shootings.
Really? Have you ever traveled to a country where guns are banned? South Africa? Northern Mexico? Eastern Europe? Oh yeah.......no violence there! Mr. Horwitz, you should move to Illinois and leave the rest of us alone!
There are millions of firearms in the US and hundreds of thousands of Concealed Weapon Permits Holders by citizens that want to operate within the law (Law Breakers could care less about laws) that simply want to defend themselves (because it not possible to carry your own personal cop).
If we were going to Armageddon in the Streets from gun slingers it would have happen decades ago.
Ensuring that States don't infringe on our Federal Constitutional Rights is always of the upmost importance.
We have a Nation of the People, By The People and For the People.
Not, a Nation of Tell Us How to Live Please Mr Government.
In addition, the 93 deaths you attribute to concealed carry licensees (I refuse to count the murderers in the total) over four and a half years pales in comparison to the approximate 37,581 firearm-related homicides for 2007-2010, representing less than a quarter of one percent of the total. Based on the numbers, concealed carry licensees don't seem to be the "problem" you make them out to be.
ECS
Delving further into their facts almost always reveals that their facts are factually, not facts.