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http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/04/14/news/041508dcgunrecip.txt
Bill Forces States To Accept Concealed Gun Permits
Monday, April 14, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Americans with state-issued concealed weapons permits would be
allowed to carry guns wherever they travel in the country under a bill
introduced Monday by 3rd District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers.
The measure would eliminate a mishmash of concealed weapons regulations that
vary from state to state, Boozman contends. All states would be forced to
recognize concealed handgun permits from elsewhere.
Gun control advocates oppose the bill. They say that gun permit standards in
some states are so weak that other jurisdictions deserve the right to refuse
those license holders.
Boozman said the bill ensures Second Amendment rights.
"I've always felt like you can have a gun, openly display it, and there not
be a problem," he said. That some states reject licensed permits from other
states "infringes on the Constitution."
Nearly 62,000 Arkansans have concealed gun permits.
Arkansas permit holders are allowed to carry a concealed weapon in 27
states, including every neighboring state.
Arkansas recognizes permits issued in 30 states.
Fourteen states do not recognize permits issued elsewhere.
"You have friends who are used to having a gun in their car and things like
that, then inadvertently being over the state line or out of state and being
concerned they were running afoul of state law," Boozman said.
Boozman's bill would require even Illinois and Wisconsin, which do not have
right-to-carry laws, to recognize licenses issued in other states.
A bipartisan group of 33 House members are co-sponsors of the bill, Boozman
said.
He acknowledged that it may be difficult to gain enough support for the
legislation, and said there is anti-gun sentiment in the Democratic-led
Congress. But he cited statistics that indicate crime decreases in states
with concealed guns laws.
According to a study cited by the National Rifle Association, violent crime
declined each year from 1977 to 1994 in jurisdictions where a concealed gun
law was in effect.
Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said
his organization is not anti-gun, but it opposes the bill because of its
impact on states.
"There are already too many states that have too weak a system of approving
people for concealed-carry permits," Hamm said. "I don't think the majority
of states want to rely on the systems of other states to let someone carry a
loaded, concealed handgun across state borders."
For instance, Florida's standards are so low that some death-row inmates
there have permits, he said.
Arkansas at one time had minimum reciprocity requirements, said state police
spokesman Bill Sadler. Those regulations mandated that other states'
training standards must be equal to or stronger than Arkansas' minimum
requirements for a permit holder.
The General Assembly since has stripped those requirements, Sadler said.
Sadler said he would not comment on the merits of Boozman's bill until he
had seen the proposed legislation.
Boozman said he feels strongly that Americans should be allowed to carry
guns.
"I grew up in Arkansas, and it was not uncommon to see people in high school
with gun racks in the back of their trucks, who would go squirrel hunting
after school was over," Boozman said. "To be honest, it's something I always
felt like there wasn't any question we could do these things."
His 26-year-old daughter, Kristen Boozman, has an Arkansas concealed weapons
permit, as do other family members, he said. The congressman himself does
not.
Bill Forces States To Accept Concealed Gun Permits
Monday, April 14, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Americans with state-issued concealed weapons permits would be
allowed to carry guns wherever they travel in the country under a bill
introduced Monday by 3rd District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers.
The measure would eliminate a mishmash of concealed weapons regulations that
vary from state to state, Boozman contends. All states would be forced to
recognize concealed handgun permits from elsewhere.
Gun control advocates oppose the bill. They say that gun permit standards in
some states are so weak that other jurisdictions deserve the right to refuse
those license holders.
Boozman said the bill ensures Second Amendment rights.
"I've always felt like you can have a gun, openly display it, and there not
be a problem," he said. That some states reject licensed permits from other
states "infringes on the Constitution."
Nearly 62,000 Arkansans have concealed gun permits.
Arkansas permit holders are allowed to carry a concealed weapon in 27
states, including every neighboring state.
Arkansas recognizes permits issued in 30 states.
Fourteen states do not recognize permits issued elsewhere.
"You have friends who are used to having a gun in their car and things like
that, then inadvertently being over the state line or out of state and being
concerned they were running afoul of state law," Boozman said.
Boozman's bill would require even Illinois and Wisconsin, which do not have
right-to-carry laws, to recognize licenses issued in other states.
A bipartisan group of 33 House members are co-sponsors of the bill, Boozman
said.
He acknowledged that it may be difficult to gain enough support for the
legislation, and said there is anti-gun sentiment in the Democratic-led
Congress. But he cited statistics that indicate crime decreases in states
with concealed guns laws.
According to a study cited by the National Rifle Association, violent crime
declined each year from 1977 to 1994 in jurisdictions where a concealed gun
law was in effect.
Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said
his organization is not anti-gun, but it opposes the bill because of its
impact on states.
"There are already too many states that have too weak a system of approving
people for concealed-carry permits," Hamm said. "I don't think the majority
of states want to rely on the systems of other states to let someone carry a
loaded, concealed handgun across state borders."
For instance, Florida's standards are so low that some death-row inmates
there have permits, he said.
Arkansas at one time had minimum reciprocity requirements, said state police
spokesman Bill Sadler. Those regulations mandated that other states'
training standards must be equal to or stronger than Arkansas' minimum
requirements for a permit holder.
The General Assembly since has stripped those requirements, Sadler said.
Sadler said he would not comment on the merits of Boozman's bill until he
had seen the proposed legislation.
Boozman said he feels strongly that Americans should be allowed to carry
guns.
"I grew up in Arkansas, and it was not uncommon to see people in high school
with gun racks in the back of their trucks, who would go squirrel hunting
after school was over," Boozman said. "To be honest, it's something I always
felt like there wasn't any question we could do these things."
His 26-year-old daughter, Kristen Boozman, has an Arkansas concealed weapons
permit, as do other family members, he said. The congressman himself does
not.
