Everyone is asking lots of questions about H.R.38, the Federal concealed carry reciprocity bill that was just passed in the House (and combined with the Fix NICS Act). Here are the droids — we mean answers — you’re looking for.
Q: Ok, so what happened yesterday (December 6, 2017)?
A: Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R.38. That bill — which used to be only the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 (“CCRA”) — was combined with H.R.4477 (the Fix NICS Act 2017). Now the CCRA is in Title I, and Fix NICS is in Title II.
Q: What’s the next step in the process?
A: Now that H.R.38 was passed by the House, it’s up to the Senate to….go through the process all over again. It’s a long and winding road, and stuff. The main Senate companion bills are S.446 and S.2135.
Q: When will President Trump sign this into law?
A: Once — and only if — the same legislation is passed by the Senate, and assuming it’s not amended from the language passed by the House, then it will go to President Trump for his signature. (Or his veto, but that doesn’t seem likely.) If there are differences between the legislation passed by the House and Senate, that has to be worked out before they can approve the final legislative text and then send it to the President. If there are things to work out, a conference committee (made up of members from both the Senate and the House) will try to reach a consensus about the different parts of the bill.
Aaaaand, since everyone loves flowcharts (and cover sheets on TPS Reports), here’s a handy little flowchart that shows the legislative process. It’s simplified, of course, because nothing is simple in legislation.
Q: Does this bill let people who can’t have guns, have guns?
A: Uhm, no. A lot of people who hate Second Amendment rights have been, in technical terms, “lying” about what this bill does and does not do.
If someone is a violent felon who is prohibited from possessing guns under state or federal law, then they will remain prohibited from possessing guns under state or federal law. H.R.38 doesn’t change that.
by firearmspolicy.org
