SA 1618 is an amendment to S. 1390, a bill authorizing appropriations for the Department of Defense for the 2010 fiscal year. The amendment seeks,
[t]o amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to allow citizens who have concealed carry permits from the State in which they reside to carry concealed firearms in another State that grants concealed carry permits, if the individual complies with the laws of the State.
There are 21 cosponsors including Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Orrin Hatch of Utah.
Naturally, the Left is pissed, which means it stands a chance.
From the Brady Campaign:
That’s what gun lobby henchmen, Senators John Thune and David Vitter, are pushing today. Their amendment to the Defense Authorization bill would force states, like your state, to allow dangerous people to carry hidden guns in public.
And look who else is pushing this legislation:
- Senator Tom Coburn, who forced through outrageous “guns in parks” legislation as an amendment to the popular credit card bill in May;
- Senator John Ensign, whose personal crusade is to gut Washington, DC’s gun laws; and
- other A-rated NRA legislators who seek to weaken our country’s gun laws in the name of “rights” and “freedom” with no reference to “responsibility.”
Donate now to support the Brady Campaign’s all-out opposition to national concealed carry legislation.
If this legislation passes, it could dramatically increase the number of individuals who carry concealed handguns in public in your state … even if your state legally bars these particular individuals from possessing guns.
Out-of-state residents who would never qualify for New York or California concealed carry permits would now be able to legally “pack heat” in your community. It reduces gun laws in all states to the “lowest common denominator” of those states with weakest gun laws.
This is madness. Please, in the name of common sense gun laws and public safety, donate to the Brady Campaign now.
Aside from totally claiming the mantle of “Gun Lobby Henchman,” I feel compelled to point out that little bit in bold. Any time anyone puts the words “freedom” or “rights” in sarcastic quotes, they need to give some serious reconsideration to their value as members of a free society, much less as political advocates of any stripe.
But notice the tone. There’s a pallor of sweaty, nervous desperation to it I’ve been seeing more and more of this last year.
After all, this won’t be the first “backdoor” victory for us. In May, we got National Park carry as a result of Senator Coburn’s amendment to the Credit Card Holder’s Bill of Right. The following month, the District of Columbia decided that the idea of reforming its draconian laws was so abhorrent, they were willing to concede their fight for voting rights.
We’ve got a strategy that works, and the Left can do little to stop it. They’re not happy.
The New York Daily News took the above Brady Campaign release, changed the wording a bit, and published it as an editorial. Sidestep the question of what passes for journalism these days, and notice the rather extreme wording. The editorial calls the Thune amendment, “diabolical legislation that would blow gaping holes in New York’s gun control laws,” and accuses Thune of “thoroughly distorting the legislative process.”
Funny. Last time I checked, “distorting the legislative process” was the modus operandi for our current administration. Apparently it’s only fair when the Left is doing it.
2 thoughts on “SA 1618: The Thune Amendment”
Although many people use the phrase “the Left” as a synonym for “those who oppose gun rights”, it surprises me that someone as erudite and articulate as yourself would elect to do so.
The left/right political spectrum is a hopelessly oversimplified construct that forces widely varying viewpoints onto a single axis. In reality, people can’t be neatly divided into monolithic Left vs. Right blocs, and I don’t see the “with us or against us” mentality as being conducive to rational debate and problem solving.
I support gun rights, personal responsibility, the use of the free market where possible and careful restriction of the size of government, but I also support secularism, reproductive rights, gay rights, universal health care, and so forth. Where is my place on this overgeneralized continuum? I don’t care to be lumped in with “the Left” or “the Right”.
Feel free to tell me where to stick this criticism, but I thought I’d mention my concern.
Take everything I say with a grain of salt. Lord knows I do. I’d go crazy if I had to take myself seriously
While neither of us (or most people) can be neatly pigeonholed into one or two poles, there are those who can. You’ll find people who can look at the whole list of “conservative” causes and check every box straight down. Likewise, I know people take the liberal side on every issue they encounter simply because it gives them some sense of identity.
I’ve spoken to many people who put serious effort into gun control as a cause, and to a man, they do fit the stereotype. Many are quite proud of the fact.
True, I may be guilty of painting with too broad of a brush at times.