She says… “As your Senator, I have opposed legislative proposals that sought to establish a sweeping, one-size-fits-all Federal mandate…” Of course, she wouldn’t say the same if the topic was abortion rights, now would she? Here was her complete canned response…
Dear Mr. xxxxxxx
Thank you for contacting me about S. 214, Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. I appreciate you taking the time to make me aware of your concerns on this important matter.
Senator John Cornyn of Texas introduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act on February 1, 2023, and it was placed on the Senate legislative calendar under general orders. This bill would allow individuals with concealed carry privileges in their home State to exercise those rights in any other State that allows concealed carry, so long as that individual is authorized under Federal law to legally possess a firearm, possesses a valid government-issued photographic identification document and abides by the State-specific concealed carry legal requirements and regulations of the State he or she is seeking to carry a concealed weapon in. The sponsor of this bill asserts it would not establish national concealed carry standards; create a Federal concealed carry permit; or preempt Federal or State-specific firearms laws that restrict concealed carry practices, preventing reciprocity from being abused as a loophole to circumvent specific State concealed carry requirements.
As your Senator, I have opposed legislative proposals that sought to establish a sweeping, one-size-fits-all Federal mandate dictating that States provide reciprocity to other States honoring concealed carry permits, even if that results in violating a given State’s concealed carry laws and regulations. The wide range of existing State-level eligibility standards for concealed carry permits reveals that State Governments hold drastically different views on optimal eligibility standards. For example, Illinois law requires concealed carry applicants to undergo hours of training, pass multiple background checks and obtain a Firearm Owners Identification card to be approved for a concealed firearm permit; while other States allow residents to purchase and carry concealed firearms with minimal or no security screening. The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act appears to recognize the potential harms of empowering one State to override another State’s concealed carry statutory and regulatory requirements by requiring permit holders to abide by a given State’s requirements when carrying in that State. Please know that should the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act be considered on the Senate floor for a vote, I will keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue. If you would like more information on my work in the Senate, please visit my website at www.duckworth.senate.gov. You can access my voting record and see what I am doing to address today’s most important issues. I hope that you will continue to share your views and opinions with me and let me know whenever I may be of assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Tammy Duckworth
United States Senator
