Cramer: House Approves Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act

Statement

Congressman Kevin Cramer supported legislation today to increase the rights of gun owners and ensure current law is being enforced with respect to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

The Constitution grants Americans the fundamental right to own a firearm. With the passage of H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, would allow individuals who are qualified to carry a concealed handgun in one state to carry in other states that permit concealed carry. Under the legislation, the license holder must abide by the laws of the state which recognize their own residents' right to concealed carry. Cramer is a cosponsor of this bill.

This legislation also includes the Fix NICS Act, which corrects the problems of inaccurate reporting within the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). In a measure to prevent gun-related misconduct, the Fix NICS Act instructs both state and federal law enforcement officials to report criminal history and penalizes agencies who fail to do so. The Fix NICS Act also requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics to account each time a bump stock is used to commit a crime.

"There is no reason a law-abiding gun owner in North Dakota should lose their Second Amendment rights while crossing state lines," said Cramer. "The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act protects every citizens' federal constitutional right to bear arms while ensuring individuals, who are legally prohibited from owning a firearm under current law, are prevented from doing so. This is a very common sense law."

H.R. 38 is supported by 24 State Attorneys General in a letter written to congressional leadership outlining how the individual right of gun ownership does not correlate to increased risk of crime. Both bills move to the Senate for further action.

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