WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38) passed 231-198 in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon, Save Jerseyans.
One New Jersey Congressman who supported the measure cited a notorious New Jersey gun case as a reason for his ‘yea’ vote.
“I’ve had multiple opportunities to listen to Shaneen Allen’s story and speak with her about the importance of protecting legal gun owners,” said Rep. Tom MacArthur (R, NJ-03), a long-time supporter of concealed carry reciprocity who advocated for Allen’s eventual pardon by Chris Christie. “Shaneen is a law-abiding single mother who was facing years in prison because her concealed-carry permit was considered illegal once she crossed from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. This legislation will ensure that what happened to Shaneen does not happen to any other law-abiding gun owners by requiring states to recognize each other’s gun carry permits, while recognizing states’ rights to create their own firearms laws.”
You can read more about Shaneen Allen’s story here if you’re new to N.J. politics and its frequently-debated draconian gun laws.
“Opponents of this bill will argue that this legislation will enable dangerous people to obtain firearms. This is completely false,” added MacArthur. “This bill, will allow a law-abiding citizen to carry concealed gun only if they are not federally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm. Additionally, this bill has nothing to do with gun purchases. Every person who wants to buy a firearm would still have to go through a thorough federal background check and in fact, this bill beefs up the Federal Instant Background Check system. This legislation will ensure legal gun owners, like Shaneen Allen, won’t have to fear arrest when they cross state lines.”
MacArthur was joined by Rodney Frelinhuysen (R, NJ-11) and Frank LoBiondo (R, NJ-02) voting in favor of the measure; Leonard Lance (R, NJ-07) and Chris Smith (R, NJ-04) voted against it.
Companion legislation now faces a tougher test in the closely-divided U.S. Senate.
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