Skip to Main Content
Donate

Week in Review

On Wednesday, the House voted to approve the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. The legislation can now be taken up for a vote by the Senate. 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.

Given the House’s large Republican majority, we knew they would be able to successfully pass the bill. And while it’s disappointing that we weren’t able to block the vote in the House, we made significant progress in flipping votes since the last time the House voted on the bill in 2011. This is an important signal of our movement’s strength and the momentum we’re generating. As a result of our movement’s work, we flipped 18 members from a YES in 2011 to a NO in 2017. This is a notable sign of progress.

All across the country, leading organizations, law enforcement groups, and Americans pushed back against this dangerous piece of legislation and voters urged their representatives to vote no on Concealed Carry Reciprocity. Here’s just a handful of examples below:

  • Ad Campaigns
    • Giffords Ad Campaign: Earlier this week, Giffords launched ads focused on eight House members urging them to oppose the concealed carry bill. This is six-figure buy includes television ads in two states – New Jersey and Minnesota – along with radio ads targeting several of the high profile Southern California districts that are in play, and digital ads in all eight districts.
    • Everytown Ad Campaign: Everytown for Gun Safety also announced a six-figure ad campaign to call attention to Rep. Mike Coffman’s support for the dangerous ‘concealed carry reciprocity’ bill — an effort that included a full-page letter to Rep. Coffman in the Denver Post from a Colorado resident whose sister was the school psychologist killed at Sandy Hook School
  • Letters of Opposition
    • From Law Enforcement: Law enforcement groups overwhelmingly oppose federally mandated concealed carry reciprocity, and sent letters to Congress calling on them to oppose the bill because it would put them in a confusing and dangerous position. Find letters and op-eds from law enforcement officers here.
    • From Leading Organizations: Many different groups concerned about public safety have been spending letters to Congress, calling on elected leaders to reject the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. Find a collection of  letters here.
  • Op-Eds
  • Press Conferences
    • Outside the Capitol:On Wednesday, gun violence prevention advocates participated in a press conference on Capitol Hill with Newtown Action Alliance and members of Congress from both chambers before the House voted on the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.
    • In States Across the Country: GVP advocates in states like Minnesota and New Jersey held their own press conferences urging their representatives to oppose CCR.

Earlier this week, families, survivors, GVP leaders, and advocates traveled near and far to unite on Capitol Hill to remember ALL who have been victims to or lost to gun violence in America. In coordination with the event, the Newtown Action Alliance held two press events to #StopCCR and #HonorWithAction. Advocates from across the country attended the Senate Judiciary Hearing and attended nearly 90 different meetings with legislators, and delivered 5-Year Sandy Hook Anniversary Letters and the Family / Survivor Letters to #StopCCR to every Member of Congress.

  • New York Times — House Votes to Sharply Expand Concealed Carry Rights : The House on Wednesday easily passed a sweeping expansion of the right to carry concealed firearms virtually anywhere in the country, putting the fate of the National Rifle Association’s top legislative priority in the hands of a divided Senate.
  • USA TODAY — ATF reviewing whether to ban ‘bump stocks ’: Federal authorities have taken the first step toward regulating rapid-fire devices called “bump stocks,” which were found among the weapons used in the Las Vegas mass murder in October, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced Tuesday.
  • US News & World Report — Doing the Gun Lobby’s Bidding : Recent public mass shootings illustrate the failure to pass universal background check laws and the absence of laws that can temporarily separate people in crisis from their guns, called extreme risk protection orders.
  • The Hill — Giffords hits lawmakers who voted for concealed carry bill : Six Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while 14 Republicans voted “no.” Giffords specifically resurfaced tweets in which lawmakers called for “thoughts and prayers” in the aftermath of recent mass shootings.
  • USA Today — NRA hijacks first bipartisan gun bill in years. Now it’s too dangerous to pass : Two months. Two horrific mass shootings that rocked America. Then, two gun bills in the House of Representatives. And one terrible idea from National Rifle Association headquarters. Leave it to the gun lobby to ruin a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation in Congress.
  • Bloomberg — Congress Moves Backward on Gun Safety : After failing to pass any gun safety legislation for a decade, and after witnessing two of the most deadly shootings in U.S. history in consecutive months, the House of Representatives has finally taken up the issue — and made matters even worse.
  • New York Times — We’ll Be Cheerful If It Kills Us : We have seen this idea, known as “concealed carry reciprocity,” before. It basically says gun owners only have to follow the laws of the state they hail from. Some states will give a permit to carry a concealed weapon to an 18-year-old. Some don’t care about a record of stalking. Some don’t have any rules at all — you’re O.K. to pack a pistol if you can breathe.
  • Arizona — Gun bill passes making conceal carry permits valid across state lines : House Bill 38 passed with a vote largely along party lines, but critics on both sides of the issue would like to see some serious changes….“Now every community will have to put up with the most dangerous, violent and frankly unstable people having guns that our officers and our families and our kids can’t see,” says Lawrence Robinson with the Giffords Arizona Coalition.
  • Colorado — Republican Rep. Ken Buck Votes Against Concealed Carry Bill : Buck, who co-sponsored the bill in January that changed before Wednesday’s vote, was one of 14 Republicans who voted against the measure, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. He was targeted in NRA emails earlier this week urging constituents to call him and tell him to “listen to his constituents and vote for H.R. 38.”
  • Florida — Concealed-carry reciprocity would be bad for Florida : Tampa District Attorney Andrew Warren explains why the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 that’s moving through Congress is on a path to threaten public safety, damage responsible gun ownership and undermine law enforcement.
  • Minnesota — Walz votes against concealed weapons bill : DFL gubernatorial candidate and 1st District Rep. Tim Walz on Wednesday voted against a bill that would allow gun owners with a state-issued concealed carry permit to carry a handgun in any state that allows concealed weapons. In a statement, Walz said he is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. However, he said this bill lacks key protections.
  • New Jersey — U.S. House votes to approve concealed carry reciprocity bill : Among the New Jersey delegation, all seven Democrats voted against the measure. Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th of Hamilton, and Leonard Lance, R-7th of Clinton, were the lone Republicans from the delegation to cross party lines and vote against it.
  • New Mexico — New Mexico town mourns the loss of cheerleader, football player killed in high school shooting : Hundreds gathered at a candlelight vigil on Thursday night after two teenagers were killed in a high school shooting in a remote part of New Mexico.
  • Ohio — Domestic abusers could carry concealed guns under US House-passed bill : The proposal, which all Ohio Republicans supported and all Ohio Democrats opposed, passed 231-198. It was cosponsored by every Ohio Republican House member except Rep. Pat Tiberi, R–Genoa Township. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine last week signed onto a letter with 23 other Republican state attorneys general in support of the measure.

***

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

By continuing on our website, you agree to our use of cookies. Terms & Conditions.Privacy Policy.