Politics
Ashley Moody co-sponsors bill to allow concealed carry outside gun owner’s home state
Much of the proposed measure would treat concealed carry permits similar to a drivers’ license.
U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is signing on as a co-sponsor of the Constitutional Concealed Reciprocity Act to allow gun owners to extend concealed carry privileges to other states.
The measure was introduced in Congress this year and would make concealed carry rights in one state “reciprocal” for that gun owner in any other state that also has laws permitting the carrying of concealed firearms.
Moody said in a news release Tuesday that extending concealed carry privileges would be a smart move on the part of the federal government.
“It makes no sense that we allow state lines to infringe on citizens’ rights to bear arms. I’m proud to cosponsor the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act and ensure individuals with concealed carry privileges can exercise those rights across state lines,” Moody said. “This commonsense legislation will cut down arbitrary barriers and uphold Americans’ rights to keep and bear arms.”
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, introduced the Constitutional Carry Reciprocity Act. Some lawmakers seek to create a general standard for what is considered a concealed carry definition, while others oppose such a national stipulation.
The proposed bills in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives both seek to establish what is considered a “qualified individual” who can carry a concealed firearm. There are some technical differences in that definition in the bills being considered in each chamber.
Moody said she likes the Senate measure, though, which has several key stipulations, including:
— Allowing individuals with concealed carry privileges in their home state to exercise those rights in any other state with concealed carry laws.
— Treating state-issued concealed carry permits like driver’s licenses, where an individual can use their home-state license to drive in another state, but must abide by that other state’s speed limit or road laws.
— And it would protect state sovereignty by not establishing a national standard for concealed carry.
Moody joins about three dozen other U.S. Senators who have cosponsored the bill, touted as a bipartisan measure. But no Democrats have signed on to co-sponsor it.