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Senate narrowly rejects amendment to allow concealed firearms across state lines

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US Senate on Wednesday rejected a proposed amendment to a military appropriations bill that would allow individuals with permits to carry concealed firearms across state lines. The amendment was proposed by Senator John Thune (R-SD) and had been a hotly contested issue, reflected by the 58-39 vote. Sixty votes were needed for passage. Thune expressed disappointment at the result, saying that the amendment had succumbed to "overheated rhetoric and fearmongering." The National Rifle Association, which had urged senators to vote for the amendment, viewed the narrow defeat as a victory, noting that a majority of senators had voted for passage. Wednesday's vote was the latest in a series of events surrounding gun-owners' rights in 2009. In early June, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit declined to apply the Second Amendment to the states and upheld handgun bans in two Illinois municipalities. In May, the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the credit card holders' bill of rights that would allow individuals to carry firearms in National Parks. The amendment may have been in response to a March ruling by the US District Court for the District of Columbia enjoining a federal rule which allowed concealed weapons to be carried in National Parks, as long as the individual is in compliance with state law.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 23, 2009 (boomark / email).