Mark Warner May Hold Deciding Vote on National Reciprocity

The Hill has an article this morning on the renewed push for National Concealed Carry Reciprocity.  Texas U.S. Senator John Cornyn recently introduced the bill for the current session and has been making the rounds talking it up.

The last time the National Reciprocity bill fell just short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate.  Now that Republicans are in the majority of the U.S. Senate, there is hope that there will be enough votes to push the bill over the top:

Supporters of the legislation believe they can secure enough Democratic votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster and get the legislation to President Obama’s desk.

While Obama is unlikely to sign the bill, given his support for stricter gun controls, getting the legislation through Congress would give Second Amendment advocates a significant victory.

Gun-control groups are planning to fight back hard, setting the stage for what promises to be a contentious battle over Second Amendment rights ahead of the 2016 elections.

Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk voted against the bill the last time it came up.  That means it would need the support of all of the remaining 53 Republicans and seven Democrats to pass.  The list of Democrats being targeted includes Virginia Senator Mark Warner.

Advocates plan to focus much of their lobbying on the Senate Democrats who have voted for the concealed carry bill in the past: Sens. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Tom Udall (N.M.) and Mark Warner (Va.).

Warner has a mixed record on issues related to our Second Amendment rights.  As Governor of Virginia, he signed a number of pro-rights bills, including a preemption bill that put all matters related to firearms in the hands of the General Assembly. He did not veto any pro-rights legislation.  For his record as Governor, Warner earned an "A" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2008.  But after the Sandy Hook school shooting, he made some comments that maybe it was time to consider new gun control and he voted for the Schumer/Manchin/Toomey background check amendment which would have criminalized private sales of firearms between friends and gun club members, among others.  That earned him a "C" rating when he ran for re-election in 1014.

Yes, Warner voted for National Reciprocity in the past.  But the only way to make sure he votes for it this time is if he hears from gun owners.  The gun ban lobby is going to go all out to try and stop the bill from reaching that all important 60th vote.

CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing Gets it Wrong on HR822

Today's CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing gets it wrong when discussing the Tucson shooter who was in court today.  Writing about his date to convince a judge that he is now sane and can plead guilty to the shooting of Gabby Giffords, her House successor Ron Barber and 17 others, including a federal judge, Roll Call decided to do more than just discuss the proceedings and delve into how the shooter could have carried his firearms concealed into any state under HR 822, The National Right to Carry Reciprocity Bill.  In doing so, they got it wrong:

Loughner had purchased the Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun he used two months before the shooting at a Tucson weapons store, passing the instant background check required by federal law. Under Arizona’s especially lenient gun control laws, he was allowed to conceal and carry the pistol without a permit; under legislation passed by the House and being pushed by the NRA in the Senate, he could have cited that state law as permission for him to hide the piece anywhere in the country.

Note CQ Roll Call takes a shot at Arizona's gun laws by editorializing that they are "especially lenient."  They also repeat one of the myths about HR 822 - that if passed, the bill would override a state's laws related to concealed carry.  Here are the facts related to HR 822 and how it would affect citizens from states that allow carrying without a permit to carry in permit states (emphasis added):

Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person's photograph and a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state, and who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state.

In other words, in order for a Vermont resident, or resident from any state (i.e. Arizona, Alaska, Wyoming) that does not require a permit, to carry in Virginia or any other state that requires a permit to carry concealed, they would either need to get a Virginia out of state permit or any other state that issues a permit to out of state residents.  The Tucson shooter could not have carried in any other state that requires a permit under H.R. 822 if he did not have a permit.

For those in the pro-rights community who may read this and support a different version of the reciprocity bill because it does not require an individual from a Arizona, Alaska, Wyoming, and Vermont, to get a permit to carry out of state; the point of this post was not to debate the differing versions of the reciprocity bills, but to point out that Roll Call got it wrong related to the NRA backed bill.

Sebastian on National Reciprocity

Over on Snowflakes in Hell, Sebastian debunks the argument being used by the antis that National Reciprocity violates states rights.

Onslaught Against National Reciprocity