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John Thune Amendment Defeated: Concealed Carry Reciprocity

by peder.sande | July 22, 2009 at 11:40 am

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The John Thune amendment was defeated in the Senate with two more votes needed to be passed. The Thune amendment would allow citizens of all states to carry concealed weapons past state boundaries to neighboring states. This would impose looser restrictions from gun toting states on states with tighter laws.

In a 58-39 vote, supporters of the looser gun law -- including all but two Republicans and 20 Democrats -- fell two votes short of the 60 they needed under Senate rules to approve the measure.

The Thune amendment is a blatant attack on the tenth amendment of the constitution, which vests power in the authority of the state rather than the Federal Government. For example, New York State, which has stringent rules on carrying a concealed weapon, must yield to Ohio's policy of giving a carry and conceal permit to anyone without a criminal record, by allowing the residence of Ohio to carry and conceal the weapon in New York.

It gets worse. States like Florida and Texas are willing to issue carry permits to nonresidents under policies just as lax as those of Ohio and Missouri. The Thune amendment would provide a legal backdoor to a New Yorker who does not qualify for a carry permit under New York’s state law. The undeserving local applicant could obtain a permit down South, and then be entitled by federal law to carry his concealed gun around New York.