It's going to be an amendment to a defense policy bill, barring the vote today, to allow people who have a legal permit to carry a concealed firearm be able to carry across state lines. Many states already have reciprocity agreements, and even in those states where "you have to show that you can stand on two feet", crime is lower, and violence from permit holders is still much lower than non-permit holders. The Brady campaign came out with misleading statistics, blaming 19 shootings in the last year on permit holders. Of course, what they forgot to say is that 18 of those were ruled self-defense, and the 19th is still in court. Chuck Schumer claims that a 16 year old from Vermont can have a permit, and then carry a backpack of guns into New York City, ignoring of course the fact that a 16 year old, by federal law, can't purchase firearms.

I would like to see this bill passed, if only to watch in amazement as state lines don't become a violent bloodbath. It should also keep both truckers and tourists from being preyed upon where laws insure that they're defenseless.