Friday, December 1st, 2017
Stephan: The regular mass murders, mostly perpetrated by crazed White men, and the 33,000 gun deaths a year in the U.S. not withstanding, those with the gun psychosis want more. They are so fearful they want to be armed no matter where they go in the country, and the Republicans in congress are trying to facilitate their request.
Now ask yourself: What kind of people are likely to want to carry concealed weapons? Do you want to? Would you be comfortable standing in a room, or say a bar, with a bunch of angry White men arguing politics, and drinking alcohol while carrying guns? Even in the old Gunsmoke television show they knew that was a bad idea. Know a couple who aren't getting on, headed for divorce, given to loud fights? Now add guns. Oh, wait, we already know what happens there, women get murdered. Imagine an American society where random fearful people go around armed with a weapon. What could possibly go wrong? It looks like we are about to find out.
Attendees at an NRA convention in 2015.
Credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
The National Rifle Association has called the concealed carry bill, which would make it easier for gun owners to keep their firearms hidden when crossing state lines, its “highest legislative priority in Congress.” Despite concerns raised by Democrats about states’ rights and domestic violence, the Republican-controlled Congress has pushed the proposal one step closer to becoming law.
The House Judiciary Committee late Wednesday voted 19-11 for the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, which would amend the federal criminal code to allow the concealed transport of handguns across state lines, so long as both states allow it. States will not be able to impose their individual requirements for a concealed carry license on armed travelers from other states.
Republicans rejected Democratic amendments that would ban violent offenders from qualifying under the law, as well as a change that would have prevented forum shopping, which means a New York resident barred from obtaining a concealed carry permit could instead send away for one from somewhere else. The bill, […]
