(AP) Gun rights advocates sought to show their political muscle again Wednesday with a Senate vote giving people with concealed weapons permits in one state permission to carry their hidden weapons into other states with similar gun laws.
Under an agreement of Senate leaders, 60 votes were needed to pass the measure, an amendment to a defense spending bill, and the outcome was uncertain. But the gun rights lobby, putting together Republicans and pro-gun Democrats from rural states, has a strong winning record in recent years.
Backers, led by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., say truckers and others with concealed weapons permits should be able to protect themselves when they cross into other states. Opponents say the measure would force states with strict procedures for getting permits to accept permits from states with more lax laws.
The provision, Thune said, will ensure that the nation's 5 million concealed-carry permit holders can travel through the 48 states allowing concealed weapons without infringements on their fundamental rights. Only Illinois and Wisconsin have no concealed weapons laws.
But Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said the proposal would allow people from states that give permits to people with alcohol problems, or child abuse convictions, or which don't require any firearms training, to carry concealed guns in states with rigorous conditions for issuing permits.
"The visitors can ignore the law of the state, the law that the elected representatives of the people of that state have enacted," he said.
The gun proposal would make concealed weapons permits from one state valid in other states as long as the person obeys the laws of other states, such as weapons bans in certain localities. It does not establish national standards for concealed weapons permits and would not allow those with permits to carry weapons into Wisconsin and Illinois. - CBS News Story
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