I've never touched a handgun and I haven't been to Florida in decades, yet this month Florida officials mailed me a permit to carry a concealed gun.Part of the discussion centers on states' rights vs. the federal government. In their usual flip-flopping way, the gun-rights folks are all for the federal government when it favors their agenda. In this case federal law would supersede state law in determining who can carry a concealed carry weapon.
If Congress adopts a bill that the National Rifle Association is pushing, Florida's licenses would apply to 49 states in all -- allowing their holders to carry hidden guns in places such as midtown Manhattan, where the New York Police Department rejects most such applications for "concealed- carry" permits.
Added to that is the obvious abuse of the system which allows people like the author of the article to apply for out-of-state licenses. Utah and Florida are the meccas for this kind of legal circumvention of the law.
New York State is an extreme example, but many states have training and testing requirements before issuing licenses. Gun owners with out-of-states permits like those issued from Florida and Utah, are required to do nothing at all.
What's your opinion? Is this right? Wouldn't national reciprocity punish the states with stricter standards? Doesn't allowing out-of-state licenses already do that?
Please leave a comment, tell us what you think?
