WASHINGTON -- A key House committee Wednesday approved a Republican bill to expand gun owners' rights -- the first gun legislation since mass shootings in Las Vegas and Texas killed more than 80 people.
On a party-line vote, the Judiciary Committee backed a bill that would allow gun owners with state-issued concealed carry permits to carry handguns in any state that allows concealed weapons. Republicans said the reciprocity measure would allow gun owners to travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state laws or civil lawsuits.
The bill was approved 19-11 and now goes to the House floor.
Democrats said the bill -- a top priority of the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups -- would endanger public safety by overriding states with strict gun laws, forcing them to comply with states that have far looser laws on guns.
"You want to wipe out our state law" that places tight restrictions on who can carry a concealed weapon, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Republicans.
The GOP bill "lowers everybody's standards to the lowest in the union," Raskin said. "It is the agenda of the NRA, but it should not be the agenda of Congress."
But Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., said the bill would increase public safety by allowing more law-abiding citizens to carry guns, regardless of where they live or travel.
"I don't believe my right to defend myself should end at the state line," Rutherford said.
Rutherford and other Republicans said a "good guy with a gun" is often the best way to counter a gun-wielding criminal. They cited the June shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who was seriously wounded at a congressional baseball game practice. Capitol police on Scalise's security detail fired back at the gunman, saving the lives of other lawmakers.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., called the argument misleading, noting that police are trained to respond to an active shooter, while most civilians are not. "Let's be honest: We are endangering public safety to cozy up to one of the biggest interest groups in the U.S. -- the NRA," Lofgren said.
House Judiciary Committee chairman U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said Democrats were misconstruing the legislation.
"This bill will not arm criminals," he said. "Nothing in this bill would allow [a convicted criminal] to purchase or possess a firearm, let alone carry one in a concealed fashion."
Numerous police and law enforcement groups oppose the bill, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
Despite calls by Democrats for tighter gun control, Congress has taken no steps on guns in the weeks since the Oct. 1 shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people and the Nov. 5 shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that killed more than two dozen.
The background-check measure was approved Wednesday in a 17-6 vote and now goes to the House floor. That bill would require that federal agencies certify twice a year that they have submitted required records to the federal database. It also rewards states that comply by providing them with federal grant preferences.
A Section on 11/30/2017