National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity has been a popular topic lately. President Donald Trump brought it up during an appearance at a Mack Trucks facility in Macungie, Pa., on June 23, proclaiming, “National Right-to-Carry, we’re working on it.” And when he addressed the nation during the celebration of 250 years of American independence on July 4, he reminded us all why he is often considered the most pro-Second Amendment president in the NRA’s history of protecting the right to keep and bear arms.
Meanwhile, Real Clear Politics published an op-ed by Economist John Lott on July 4 that spoke to the need for passage of National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity legislation.
Of course, anyone who has been involved in the defense of our right to arms is familiar with the work of Dr. Lott. In the late 1990s, he burst onto the gun policy scene with the publication of the book More Guns, Less Crime, which supported the idea that allowing more law-abiding citizens to carry firearms for self-defense leads to a reduction in violent crime.
Since then, Lott has been actively promoting reducing restrictions on firearms ownership and carry based on his methodical research showing the potential, and often realized, benefits of such policy. This includes his work in the first administration of Donald Trump and with the Crime Prevention Research Center, which he founded in 2013.
In his recent op-ed, Professor Lott points out that most states already recognize permits issued by other states, and no significant problems have been brought to light concerning such recognition. He further notes that right-to carry laws have been shown to reduce murder rates for both men and women and that the two fastest growing demographics for new permits over the last decade has been female and black Americans.
Lott also mentions that the vast majority of police chiefs and sheriffs (86%) as well as rank-and-file law enforcement officers (90%) support Right-to-Carry Reciprocity.
“Police play an indispensable role in public safety,” he says. “But around 700,000 officers cannot protect over 340 million Americans everywhere at once.”
And while opponents of the idea claim permit holders (presumably visiting from other states) would commit crimes, Lott explains that there is no evidence to support such a claim and that history has shown permit holders to be exceptionally law-abiding. He also clarifies that contrary to the claim that permit holders would be confused by differing carry laws when they travel to another state and may be prone to unknowingly violating local gun laws, “no evidence shows that out-of-state permit holders create such problems.”
Similar to carry permitting laws, driver’s licenses vary somewhat in issuing standards across the country, as do driving laws themselves. There is no reason to believe those who carry firearms for self-defense will be suddenly incapable of complying with the law when they drive across a state line, just as common experience shows lawful behavior is overwhelmingly the case with driving itself.
Lott closes his argument by simply stating the obvious.
“Congress should ensure that law-abiding Americans do not lose their ability to defend themselves simply by crossing a state line.”
We wholeheartedly agree with both Professor Lott and President Trump in supporting the passage of Right-to-Carry Reciprocity legislation, and we look forward to the day when Congress finally catches up to the rest of America on this commonsense policy.
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