When Congress returns in January with new Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, they will see a re-energized Congressional Second Amendment Caucus (CSAC) chaired by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
This is the third incarnation of the caucus and it is promising to pursue pro-Second Amendment legislation when lawmakers get back to work, the report said.
Almost right out of the gate, this group may have a major issue to handle: national concealed carry reciprocity. A new version of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which will reportedly be sponsored by North Carolina Congressman Richard Hudson, has already been reported.
In announcing his plan to submit the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, Hudson wrote, “Our Second Amendment right doesn’t disappear when we cross state lines, and I plan to introduce legislation in the first days of the 115th Congress to guarantee that. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 is a common sense bill to provide law-abiding citizens the right to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits. As a member of President-elect Trump’s Second Amendment Coalition, I look forward to working with the administration to advance policies that support and protect our right to keep and bear arms.”
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The “inaugural” 14-member CSAC core group includes Reps. Paul Gosar (AZ), Ken Buck (CO), Ted Yoho (FL), Jody Hice (GA), James Comer (KY), Justin Amash (MI), Mark Meadows (N.C.), Warren Davidson (OH), Scott Perry (PA), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), Brian Babin (TX), Dave Brat (VA), and Alex Mooney (W.Va.), according to Fox News.
In a statement, the CSAC explained that “Caucus members will lead efforts in the House of Representatives to pass meaningful firearms legislation and protect Americans against infringements of the Second Amendment.”
With Capitol Hill coming under Republican control, and Donald Trump heading to the White House, gun rights activists and advocacy groups are already pushing an agenda that, according to Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, will “make the Second Amendment great again.” Gottlieb recently issued several recommendations to Trump and the Congress, and high among them is national concealed carry reciprocity or recognition.
Along with other gun rights leaders, Gottlieb would like to see suppressors removed from regulation by the National Firearms Act, and he would like to see rights restoration investigations resumed.
Pushing back against gun control laws makes gun prohibitionists furious. Trump’s election put the anti-gun rights lobby on the defensive. They had expected Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton to win the Nov. 8 election, and seemed to be drooling at the prospects of massive clampdown on the Second Amendment. In the aftermath of her Electoral College rout, anti-gunners have been wailing.
Trump indicated more than once that he supports the idea of national reciprocity for those licensed to carry. John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, recently estimated that more than 15 million Americans are currently licensed to carry. That number continues to grow.
Related:
Concealed carry proposals hitting the fan in both Washingtons
Ohio lawmakers send concealed carry reform legislation to Kasich
California anti-gunners lose one, settle one
