What’s Going on with NICS Updates?
Here’s a useful article on some infighting with Dems on the NICS update bill. Don’t worry, it’s not what you think.
Mr. Leahy, who dislikes federal mandates, complained that his small state would be hard-pressed to meet the House deadlines for sharing information, and therefore risked being penalized.
But it wasn’t until August that he advanced his package, which ran almost 50 pages more than the House bill and added provisions that split the law-enforcement community.
Both measures promise new federal money to update records while states face future aid cuts if they don’t comply. Mr. Leahy’s version has a richer “carrot” and gentler “stick,” narrowing the records that must be shared and giving states twice as long before mandatory penalties can be imposed.
But the chairman then also reopened a fight with Mr. Kennedy by including amendments to an existing law that allows retired law-enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons across state lines.
Enacted in 2004, the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act continues to meet resistance from states and cities, such as New York, as an intrusion on local control.
Mr. Leahy’s proposed changes would make it easier for retired officers to get around these obstacles and also lower the years of service needed to qualify to carry concealed weapons from 15 to 10.
No obviously related posts.
So why is a retired cop allowed to do things you or I am not? What makes him less human, and therefore less prone to accidents with his firearm?
Training? I think not. I spend more time at the range in 6 months that most cops spend in their careers.
I guess it’s an “Only Ones” type scenario.
It is better than nothing though. Enabling nationwide reciprocity for retired cops is a good thing; and it would be a positive step towards enabling it for CCW holders as well.
[...] Bitter mentions that it’s not what you’re thinking – they’re not adding more gun control to the [...]
I kind of disagree, Ahab. I don’t like this constant reinforcement that cops somehow are more deserving of protection than you or I. Even when we gain something from this, we lose more ground on getting people to understand that rights are rights, regardless of who you are.
My dad is a cop, and I avoid these discussions around him because he has the “Only One” mentality sometimes.
Well, it’s not an easy issue. I agree, I don’t want people to think that cops should get special privileges (aside from police powers, obviously; but at the same time there are a lot of cops who don’t have the “Only Ones” mentality and are willing to help us defend our rights.
I’ll actually write a blog post explaining why I think it’s good idea.
Robb,
I never said cops were better than anyone else, and every cop I know agrees with me. However, considering alternatives are not currently politically viable, I’m fine with this. I’m not out actively promoting it because I really don’t care.
Bitter, I didn’t mean to imply you thought that. And yeah, this isn’t a terrible thing by any stretch of the imagination. I just wish we could get it into the populace’s psyche that cops are people, just like you an me, and that we *all* deserve the same treatment.
Ahab:
I appreciate your tone, and don’t take this the wrong way, but the concerns about HR 218 have been borne out.
It’s been 3 years since HR 218, and despite the promises that it would herald a new era in state-state-concealed-carry, that the police would serve as a good first step, and they’d assist…
Well, I don’t want to say OJ’s been looking for the real killer harder…. But lets find any notable mention in the last 3 years since HR 218 passed about taking the next step to the non-LEO concealed carry. I’ve yet to see it.
I agree some LEO’s support it. I don’t know how many are “lots” – its possible. But I think “Lots” would have gotten more vocal support. Maybe not.
So, I can’t really give a whole lot of support (or worry with caring about) further expansion/clarification/assistance.. How about we expand nationwide CCW first, and then work on those municipalities resisting that and HR 218?
A retired cop is a citizen. I am a citizen. Why does he rate rights I do not?
Would he not be more in favor of my rights if he had to share my circumstances?
It is a lousy idea whose only outcome can be widening of the chasm between police and populace. Not good. It’s already too damn wide.
[...] the comments at this thread at Bitter’s, I mentioned that I support expanding nationwide reciprocity for retired police officers to carry [...]
Maryland leads the way to NICS prep. As of August 1, an individual purchasing a handgun must sign a form allowing state police access to ALL of their medical records. Forget privacy laws or rights. Why aren’t people angry as hornets?
CCW should be universal, with the burden on the government to prove otherwise on an individual basis. Anything else flies in the face of our constitutionally guaranteed rights.