Week in Review

Earlier this week, Congress — following direction from the NRA — formally began their efforts to enact federally mandated concealed carry reciprocity (CCR) legislation. The House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, and we expect the full House of Representatives to vote on the bill as early as next week. If this bill passes and becomes law, it would mean that almost anyone would be able to carry loaded, concealed handguns almost anywhere in the United States.

The House committee passed this dangerous bill alongside the Fix NICS Act, a bipartisan bill improving the background check system that we support. The House Republicans combined these two bills into a single piece of legislation that’s headed to the House floor, and while this move appears to address our gun violence epidemic, it is in fact is a disingenuous and shameful ploy that puts politics over public safety.

What is “concealed carry reciprocity” and what does it mean for your state? Check out these resources and learn more about the myths the gun lobby pushes about concealed carry, and the facts that bust them.

The single most important thing we can do right now is drive calls to Congress and tell them to OPPOSE the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. This CCR Toolkit includes template emails you can use to activate your lists and a sample script that people can use when they call Capitol Hill. Please share this toolkit with your networks.

• New York Times | Opinion — Oh Lord, Now the Gun Thing’s Back : Contributor Gail Collins is right. There is a lot going on right now, but attention must be paid to what’s happening with gun legislation in Congress.
• The Daily Beast — The NRA’s Dream Bill Is Getting Remarkably Close to Reality : While the bill’s author, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), has told party leaders it has the votes to sail through the House, the Senate is another story. Ultimately, Republicans would need to flip eight Democrats in order to get concealed carry reciprocity into law, but according to The Daily Beast, some vulnerable Democratic senators who are on the ballot next year said they’re also open to supporting the measure.
• ABC — House Panel Taking Up Bill Allowing Concealed Carry Across State Lines : In a letter sent to congressional leaders, a group of current and former local and federal law enforcement officials organized by the Giffords gun violence prevention organization founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords warned that the measure would force local law enforcement to learn concealed carry laws for all 50 states.
• The Hill — Giffords Group Targets Issa Over Concealed Carry Bill : Giffords is launching a five-figure digital ad buy that will target 25,000 voters in Issa’s Southern California district. The ad urges voters to call on him to oppose the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 that would allow licensed gun owners to carry their firearms in other states that have their own concealed carry laws.
• New York Times — ‘Ghost Guns,’ Homemade and Untraceable, Face Growing Scrutiny : In the US, there has been a growing number of cases involving homemade guns, some of which were high-profile active shootings by precisely the sort of people who are prohibited from buying the weapons.
• Reuters — U.S. Top Court Spurns Challenge to Maryland Assault Weapons Ban : The Supreme Court rejected two gun lobby challenges to strong rulings on guns in Maryland and Florida.
• New York Times | Editorial — The Pentagon’s Indifference to Gun Safety : In the weeks since the Sutherland Springs murders, it’s become apparent that the Pentagon’s failure to report the shooter’s record was one of many; time and again, it has failed to forward criminal incident data to the F.B.I.
• New York Times — Air Force Failed to Report Dozens of Service Members to Gun Database : The reporting error that allowed the Sutherland Springs shooter to obtain guns “was not an isolated incident and similar reporting lapses occurred at other locations.” Read more about this investigation from the New York Times.
• ABC News — Survivors of Las Vegas massacre come together for potluck Dinner : About 100 survivors of the concert massacre in Las Vegas came together for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. They ate turkey, shared their experiences and consoled each other.

• Giffords — Legal & Lethal: 9 Products That Could be the Next Bump Stock: Before the Law Vegas shooting, few people had ever heard of a bump stock. What else is out there? Giffords policy experts put together a report on how the gun industry is putting public safety at risk by manufacturing extremely lethal firearms designed to skirt the federal laws established to keep us safe.
• Baylor — Gun Culture in Action : A a study published in Oxford Academic finds that poor white men find comfort in guns as a means to reestablish a sense of individual power and moral certitude.

• Minnesota — Gun Violence Brings Lucy Laney Community to City Council : Parents, teachers—and especially students—shouldn’t have to ask to make their communities safer from gun violence. This is not normal. The representatives from Lacy Laney Elementary school had the courage to stand up and demand change.
• New Jersey — N.J. Moves Closer to Banning Gun Accessory Used in Las Vegas Shooting: The state Assembly’s law and public safety committee voted 8-0 on Thursday to advance a Democrat-sponsored bill that would prohibit the sale and possession of “bump stocks” in the state.
• New Mexico — Enough with the Death Raffles : “Helping local charities is a noble cause. But, let’s not do this by putting more guns on our streets.” GVP advocate Miranda Viscoli and Valerie Plame shine a light on how some charities are raising money by raffling off deadly weapons.
• Pennsylvania — How Pennsylvania Created a Model Gun Background Check System : As federal lawmakers seek to improve record reporting to the federal background check system after a Texas massacre highlighted the risks of missing records, Pennsylvania offers a potential roadmap: The state has spent the last six years aggressively overhauling records reporting, hunting down reporting gaps, and modernizing the technology they use to keep guns out of the wrong hands.

***

To sign up for Resist the Gun Lobby email updates, please fill out this form.