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Everytown, Moms Demand Action Statement on “Concealed Carry Reciprocity” Vote in the House of Representatives

12.6.2017

NEW YORK – Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, today released the following statements after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 38, the disastrous “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.”

STATEMENT FROM JOHN FEINBLATT, PRESIDENT OF EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY:

“House Republicans just ignored opposition from law enforcement and the public in order to eviscerate state gun laws and make it easy for people with dangerous histories and no training to carry hidden, loaded guns across the country. We’ll hold those politicians accountable, just as we’ll hold accountable those who support this dangerous legislation as this fight moves to the Senate.”

STATEMENT FROM SHANNON WATTS, FOUNDER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:

“Over the past year, Moms Demand Action volunteers and survivors of gun violence have made tens of thousands of calls to Congress and held hundreds of meetings with Congressional offices across the country to urge their Representatives to reject ‘concealed carry reciprocity,’ and now the work continues to hold members accountable. We’re putting Washington on notice: If you stand with the gun lobby, against public safety, then we will use our grassroots power to vote you out of office.”

Additional Background and Resources on Concealed Carry Reciprocity:

About “Concealed Carry Reciprocity”

  • “Concealed carry reciprocity” would override the standards that states have set for who can carry hidden, loaded guns in public.
  • Right now, every state has different standards for who can carry a concealed gun in public. “Concealed carry reciprocity” would NOT create a national standard for who can carry a hidden, loaded gun in public. Instead, it would force each state to accept the concealed carry standards of every other state, even states that have weak standards, or worse, no standards at all.
  • This isn’t hypothetical: 19 states don’t require any gun safety training in order to carry a concealed gun in public, while 12 states don’t require a permit or background check.
  • “Concealed carry reciprocity” would undermine state gun laws, and force every state to allow people with dangerous histories and no training to carry hidden, loaded guns in public.
  • A Pew survey released in June found that 81 percent of Americans oppose allowing people to carry concealed weapons without a permit. “Concealed carry reciprocity” would force states to allow concealed carry by millions of people with no permit.

    NRATV host Grant Stinchfield said about “concealed carry reciprocity” during his daily program last week, “I don’t think you’re going to get eight Democratic votes [in the Senate], which is why I’ve been pushing for a very long time that the 60-vote rule ought to be thrown out all together.”