House bill would broaden firearm permits

WASHINGTON -- A state permit to carry a concealed firearm would be valid in almost every other state in the country under legislation the House passed Wednesday.

The first pro-gun bill the House has taken up this year and the first since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), was severely injured in a gun attack in January, it had the National Rifle Association's backing and passed by a comfortable margin.

The vote was 272-154, with only seven Republicans voting against it and 43 Democrats supporting it.

The Democratic-controlled Senate has no parallel bill. But two years ago, GOP Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and David Vitter of Louisiana nearly succeeded in attaching a similar measure to a larger bill.

Earlier, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) proposed an amendment that would allow the concealed-gun bill to go into effect only in states that have passed their own legislation enacting the measure. But, as with the other seven amendments, the House rejected it.

Under the House legislation, people with a concealed carry permit in one state could carry a concealed weapon in every other state that gives people the right to carry concealed weapons. While states have various standards for issuing such permits, currently only Illinois and the District of Columbia prohibit the concealed carrying of weapons.

"The Second Amendment is a fundamental right to bear arms that should not be constrained by state boundary lines," said GOP Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill's chief co-sponsor, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), said states should consider concealed carry permits no differently from driver's licenses recognized by all states. He noted that many states already have reciprocity agreements with other states.

The legislation would "make it easier for law-abiding permit holders to know that they are simply in compliance with the law when they carry a firearm as they travel," he said.

Democratic opponents said the bill would constitute a "race to the bottom," with states that have strict requirements for issuing permits having to accept permits from states with far more lax standards.

"It's a situation where weaker state laws become the national law," said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.).

With Tom Brune