Response from Bob Casey about national concealed carry (3 months later)

[autotech6506]

Dear Mr. Clay:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about concealed carry legislation. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.

Several bills and amendments relating to the carrying of concealed firearms have been introduced in the Senate during the 111th Congress by Senator John Thune. Specifically, he has introduced two bills, S. 371 and S. 845, both called the Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009. S. 845 would create national reciprocity so that permits to carry concealed firearms issued by any state would be recognized in any other state that allows individuals to carry concealed firearms.

Senator Thune also offered an amendment, Senate Amendment 1618, to S. 1390, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. S.A. 1618 would have created national reciprocity for concealed carry permits in a similar way to S. 845. As a supporter of the right of citizens to own firearms for self protection, I voted in favor of S.A. 1618, but the amendment did not get enough votes to pass.

Under the Thune Amendment, individuals who travel to other states would be required to follow the laws of the host state, including laws concerning specific types of locations in which firearms may or may not be carried.

Currently, there are over 500,000 people in Pennsylvania with permits, issued in Pennsylvania, to carry concealed weapons. The Commonwealth already has reciprocal agreements with 24 other states, which authorize people with permits from those other states to carry concealed weapons in Pennsylvania. For example, a Pennsylvania resident right now can obtain a non-resident concealed carry permit from Florida or Utah. This entitles that Pennsylvania resident to carry a concealed weapon in Pennsylvania without obtaining a Pennsylvania permit.

S. 371 and S. 845 are currently under review by the Committee on the Judiciary, of which I am not a member. Please be assured that I will continue to pay close attention to this issue and try to balance the right of citizens to own firearms with the need to protect those citizens.

As always, I appreciate your views, thoughts and concerns as they assist me in understanding what is important to the people of Pennsylvania. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator

[dc dalton]

Heh, I just got the exact same one in my not 10 seconds ago

Nothing like being timely huh?

[PocketProtector]

He sent me one 30 minutes ago on Cap and Tax....LOL...it said N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Just Political gobblygook. Can't stand these asshats anymore....they're just a bunch of conniving, posturing, narcisstic rectal rims.

[Al-Mumit]

And that, gentlemen, is why 'career politician' should not be a paying job.

[Gunfighter04]

His tech crew must have finally figured out how mail merge works, I just got mine.

[JavaProgrammer]

I just got a response as well. It took me some time to remember what my original comment was about anyway.

[normanvin]

Just now recieved the same email.

[velkly]

Both my wife and I received the same form letter. We definitely need to go back to the original intent regarding how often Congress was to meet. It would do them a lot of good to see how REAL people live and work. Nothing requires them to be there everyday.

[5711-Marine]

S. 371 and S. 845 are currently under review by the Committee on the Judiciary, of which I am not a member. Please be assured that I will continue to pay close attention to this issue and try to balance the right of citizens to own firearms with the need to protect those citizens.

Still waiting for my response (hoping for the same form letter response) and I will reply with the following questions

1 What exactly does the bold sentence mean? Who are those citizens? The way the sentence is constructed, he seems to be protecting us from ourselves...

2 He completely missed the mark. We don't need an out of state permit to carry in PA. We need full reciprocity since the PA LTCF is only honored in WV one of the six border states. neither the Florida or Utah permit allows a Pennsylvania resident to carry in New York, New Jersey or Maryland, three of the six states which border us, in fact it only adds OH and DE.

3 to amplify that point I will try to articulate the fact that a simple wrong turn while driving can put an otherwise law abiding citizen with a LTCF in legal jeopardy by accidentally entering one of the neighboring states while carrying a concealed weapon.

[XJeffro]

I just received this response from Sen. Casey about the need for national reciprocity. I sent this to him July 21st, 2009, the day of, or before the vote came up about the Thune legislation granting national reciprocity for concealed handguns. The letter definitely addressed the concerns and support I wanted on this supject, unlike the Specter email that was just a cookie cutter mass email. It did take 2 1/2 months to get back to me, but he did get back to me. Anyway, I copied the form from pafoa.org to email the senators expressing my support for national reciprocity. There is a mistake in it... Cheers.

Here is his response:




Dear Mr. XJeffro:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about concealed carry legislation. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.

Several bills and amendments relating to the carrying of concealed firearms have been introduced in the Senate during the 111th Congress by Senator John Thune. Specifically, he has introduced two bills, S. 371 and S. 845, both called the Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009. S. 845 would create national reciprocity so that permits to carry concealed firearms issued by any state would be recognized in any other state that allows individuals to carry concealed firearms.

Senator Thune also offered an amendment, Senate Amendment 1618, to S. 1390, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. S.A. 1618 would have created national reciprocity for concealed carry permits in a similar way to S. 845. As a supporter of the right of citizens to own firearms for self protection, I voted in favor of S.A. 1618, but the amendment did not get enough votes to pass.

Under the Thune Amendment, individuals who travel to other states would be required to follow the laws of the host state, including laws concerning specific types of locations in which firearms may or may not be carried.

Currently, there are over 500,000 people in Pennsylvania with permits, issued in Pennsylvania, to carry concealed weapons. The Commonwealth already has reciprocal agreements with 24 other states, which authorize people with permits from those other states to carry concealed weapons in Pennsylvania. For example, a Pennsylvania resident right now can obtain a non-resident concealed carry permit from Florida or Utah. This entitles that Pennsylvania resident to carry a concealed weapon in Pennsylvania without obtaining a Pennsylvania permit.

S. 371 and S. 845 are currently under review by the Committee on the Judiciary, of which I am not a member. Please be assured that I will continue to pay close attention to this issue and try to balance the right of citizens to own firearms with the need to protect those citizens.

As always, I appreciate your views, thoughts and concerns as they assist me in understanding what is important to the people of Pennsylvania. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator