Latest awful GOP idea: Let every Florida vigilante pack heat in N.J.
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Our state has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, which most voters think should be even stricter.
But no matter. The number-two Republican in the U.S. Senate thinks any state with shoddier standards should get to decide who can carry a concealed gun here.
John Cornyn of Texas’s federal reciprocity bill would guarantee people with a concealed-carry permit from one state, like Florida, could take their guns into any other. Like New Jersey.
Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) expressed support for this in principle at his recent town hall, and he and other New Jersey Republicans will have to answer for it if they go along with this. Give your representative a buzz at 202-225-3121, or the numbers below.
President Donald Trump, backed by the NRA’s unprecedented $30 million in ad buys, argues that like a drivers’ license, a carry permit should be valid everywhere.
The poster child is the North Carolina man Gov. Christie pardoned for bringing his legally registered firearm along while doing utility repairs after Sandy. He was an innocent guy helping this state.
The problem is all the other guns this would let in: carried by stalkers, drunk drivers, and abusive partners that other states allow to pack hidden heat. Yahoos like George Zimmerman, who shot Trayvon Martin. North Carolina even failed to revoke or suspend the carry permits of people who did time for murder or rape.
Why should we suffer for their recklessness? That any idiot can carry a concealed weapon in Florida is Florida’s problem. Leave it at home.
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