January 24, 2012
William Butler
621 W Myrtle Ct
Hailey, ID 83333-8517
Dear William:
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for a nationwide reciprocity agreement among the states with regard to concealed firearms licensing. I agree with you and welcome the opportunity to respond.
As you may know, H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, was introduced in the House by Representative Cliff Stearns (R-Florida) on February 18, 2011. This bill would amend the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is carrying a valid, government-issued concealed weapons permit in one state, to possess or carry a concealed handgun in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state, among other things. On November 16, 2011, H.R. 822 passed the House by a vote of 272-154, and has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it awaits further action. While I do not serve on that committee, I look forward to reviewing its recommendations.
You may be interested to know that in the 111th Congress, I supported an amendment offered by Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) to S. 1390, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, to permit a nonresident of a state to carry a concealed firearm (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in that state as long as certain conditions are met. It is important to note, however, that the amendment took great care to acknowledge state rights. For example, it would not have mandated the right to conceal carry in the two states that do not allow the practice—Illinois and Wisconsin; it would not have allowed a resident to circumvent their home state’s conceal carry permit laws; and it required that state laws concerning specific types of locations in which firearms may not be carried must be followed by the visiting individual. While that amendment did not pass the Senate, it went to great lengths to protect state rights.
Let me reassure you that I do not support gun control. We must protect and preserve our constitutional right to bear arms. I will not support any legislation that requires a waiting period for the purchase of a firearm, bans the ownership of firearms, promotes or requires the rationing or taxation of firearms, or the taxation of ammunition.
The Second Amendment reads: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." I firmly believe this provision prohibits the federal government from denying citizens this right.
As you may know, gun control advocates continue to seek creative methods of advancing their agenda, both through legislation and litigation. You may be assured that I will continue to oppose all efforts to weaken Second Amendment rights.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me in the future on this or other matters of interest to you. For more information about the issues before the U.S. Senate as well as news releases, photos, and other items of interest, please visit my Senate website, http://crapo.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mike Crapo
United States Senator
MDC:rj | 
