Feinstein signals attempt to filibuster National Right to Carry legislation

by Chad D. Baus

The Associated Press reported recently that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who once infamously admitted on national television that her goal is to get American gun owners to "turn them all in," is trying to block votes on bills that would require a state to honor concealed gun permits from other states.

From the article:

The California Democrat wrote Majority Leader Harry Reid and Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, requesting that no votes be scheduled on two concealed weapons "reciprocity" bills. There was no immediate response from Reid, D-Nev., or Leahy, D-Vt., to the letter dated April 17.

...Feinstein wrote, "These dangerous bills ... would undermine states' rights by forcing nearly every state to accept the concealed carry permits issued by other states, even if the permit holder could not qualify for a permit in the state to which he is traveling."

She said major law enforcement agencies opposed the legislation.

Feinstein said the bills present a special problem for women who are domestic violence victims.

"Imagine that a man who has been convicted of a domestic violence crime against a woman he had been dating seeks — and obtains — a permit to carry a concealed firearm from his state of residence," she wrote. "Under the concealed carry reciprocity bills, he could legally travel across state lines and confront his former girlfriend ..."

Leaving aside the fact that Feinstein's voting record proves she cares nothing for state's rights on other issues, this objection is laughable. If a person intends to commit a violent crime against another, it is ludicrous to think they would be deterred because of a law prohibiting travel across a state line.

Law enforcement officers, she added, could face potentially life-threatening situations. She said it often is impossible for an officer to determine if an out-of-state concealed carry permit furnished during a traffic stop is valid. She said most states do not enter permit information into the primary database used by officers when conducting a stop.

Even IF her claims about the database are true (and I doubt it), if the individual involved in a traffic stop is presenting no other signs of problems, the simple fact that they are exercising their Second Amendment rights doesn't present any concerns whatsoever for officer safety.

For its part, the National Rifle Association told the AP it would not be deterred in efforts to pass reciprocity legislation.

"We have to work harder to get 60 votes, and we're prepared to do that," NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said, referring to the number of senators needed to end a filibuster.

In 2009, former Ohio Senator George Voinovich (R) and another Republican, Dick Lugar, killed an attempt to bring this important issue to a vote in the Senate via an amendment to S.1290, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.