John Richardson has the scoop on this one. Introduced by Cliff Stearns of Florida and co-sponsored by Heath Shuler of North Carolina, the bill seeks to enforce national reciprocity for carry permits.
Two years ago, Senators Thune and Coburn attempted to pass a similar bill by amending it to the Defense Department budget. It failed by only two votes then, and the landscape is much more amenable to it now.
That is, if the Tea Party still believes all that stuff they did last November.
It’s amazing how quickly this came to a head. I’d just heard about it a few days ago, and as of yesterday, the Brady Campaign and their ilk were in full panic mode over it with the media. Last night, Fox News was running a constant ticker about it over their program.
Then came the vote today.
We lost by two votes.
Two.
In a Democrat-controlled Senate.
We may have lost this one, but look at the circumstances. This never would have been imaginable ten years ago. Heck, it never would have seemed feasible at any point in modern times.
The winds are changing. Harry Reid voted for it. So did Russ Feingold, as well as Democratic Senators from Alaska, Montana, Arkansas, Colorado, Virginia (both Senators), and Arizona.
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.