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Senate kills gun amendment
In an unexpected defeat for the gun lobby, the Senate on Wednesday voted narrowly to kill an amendment that would have allowed gun owners to carry concealed firearms across state lines so long as they have valid permits or permission from their state of residence to do so.
Backers of the amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Republican, received 58 votes -- two short of the 60 needed to overcome a minority filibuster and add the measure to a defense authorization bill now on the Senate floor. Thirty-nine senators voted against the amendment.
The loss came despite support from a number of pro-gun-rights Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. The National Rifle Association also had said it would score the vote in its ranking of lawmakers on gun-rights issues.
Guns have proved a tricky political issue for the Democratic majorities in Congress as leaders in both the House and the Senate have sought to avoid votes on pro-gun measures for fear they would pass with the help of conservative Democrats from Western and Southern states.
Earlier this year, Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, attached an amendment to allow people to carry guns in some national parks to a credit-card consumer-protection bill. A Senate amendment that would eliminate most of the District's gun laws all but killed a voting rights bill for the city as leaders in the House would rather delay the bill than risk passage of the gun provision.
Mr. Thune's amendment would allow individuals to carry concealed firearms across state lines so long as they obtain valid permits or are legally allowed by their state of residence to do so. He said that, after entering another state, an individual carrying a firearm must follow respect that state's laws.
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Well, there's several issues on display here.
IMO, the most egregious issue is the practice of piggy-backing a gun-related amendment onto a defense authorization bill. That practice should stop, and all parties are guilty of it.
The second issue is I don't see where Congress has the authority to regulate the non-commercial transport of firearms throughout the country. It's not covered by the Interstate Commerce Clause, and national defense isn't interstate commerce, anyway.
And lastly, the Constitution requires that each state give full faith and credit to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.
(Art IV - Sect 1)
The issuance of a concealed weapons permit is no less and no more a matter of public act and records as the issuance of a driver's license, and should be treated in the same manner, thereby making this amendment unnecessary.