Rep. Val Demings’ (D-Fla.) recent op-ed (“ ‘Concealed Carry Reciprocity’ measure would gut public safety laws,” June 29) demonstrates she either hasn’t bothered to read the bills she criticizes or is willingly misrepresenting them for political reasons.
Law-abiding Americans are increasingly purchasing firearms but only after undergoing an industry-supported FBI background check. She asserts, falsely or ignorantly, that criminals with domestic violence and violent criminals could carry a gun. She ignores the fact that the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 does nothing to prohibit a state from setting laws within their borders. The bill would prohibit states from making felons of law-abiding firearms owners who exercise their constitutional rights just because they travel across a state border. Your Second Amendment rights don’t stop at the border of your home state. The Second Amendment applies equally in Manhattan as it does Montana.
by Lawrence G. Keane