One of the best things I ever heard my old rocket scientist boss Rush Holt say was that he longed for a Congress that made decisions based on evidence rather than ideology. That goes to the dead center of my interest in him. I want more people in decisive positions who think harder, and with less limitation. Like scientists do. And I want fewer who come to Congress - guns blazing, as it were - determined to remake the rest of us in some image of their own.
Today Holt spoke on the House floor to oppose H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, which overrides more sensible gun control laws by allowing anyone who who possesses a concealed carry permit in any state to carry their weapon across state lines. There are 245 sponsors. Yes, some of them are Dems, but none of ours. Garrett and LoBiondo are co-sponsors.
What the bill means in essence is that the standards would be lowered in states with strict requirements for gun permits, as all states would have to accept permits from states with lax standards. It essentially nationalizes the weakest requirements. If your aim is to make sure only very well-qualified people can carry a concealed weapon, this bill does the opposite. From a safety standard, it's just bad policy. But the interpretation of the Second Amendment that many conservatives cleave to, as they imagine themselves a well regulated militia, is deeply ingrained in so many, the lone man takin' care of business. Ideological.
Frank Lautenberg joined Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, whose family life was defined by an act of gun violence, wrote Pres. Obama last week urging him to issue a veto threat to this legislation. Obama's not yet weighed in.
Turn on C-SPAN and you can watch the vote, with pending amendments, now. This sucker will surely pass the House tonight. But while we're waiting, here's Rush Holt on the irony of the very people who hold states' rights so dear taking the bite out of states' decisions on their own gun requirements, a shootout between the 2nd & 10th Amendments.
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