LETTERS

All states require background checks for concealed carry permits

Posted 1/10/18

To the Editor: I don't want no wild-eyed, gun totin' good ole boys from out west comin' up here to Row Dylan packin' heat. This seems to be the sentiment of critics like Cranston's Tom Wojick, who is concerned that the Fix NICS Act" of 2017 will"

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LETTERS

All states require background checks for concealed carry permits

Posted

To the Editor:

I don’t want no wild-eyed, gun totin’ good ole boys from out west comin’ up here to Row Dylan packin’ heat.  

This seems to be the sentiment of critics like Cranston’s Tom Wojick, who is concerned that the “Fix NICS Act” of 2017 will “strip the rights of states to regulate the safe and responsible use of weapons.” In this he joins our left-leaning congressional delegation. 

Mr. Wojick “[doesn’t] trust Idaho and Arizona which have no permit process.” He doesn’t have to look that far. Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are constitutional carry states – no permit required. He also doesn’t have to worry. The bill says a state does not have to recognize the right of a resident of a permitless state to carry concealed or openly.

The Fix NICS Act is a response to the mass shooting by a domestic abuser who was committed to and escaped from an institution for the mentally ill and dishonorably discharged from the Air Force, which did not report him to the FBI database.

The bill by Democrats would give government agencies cash bonuses for putting names in the database –something they are required by law to do anyway. This will result in cases like the veteran who suffered a broken back in Iraq and who assigned an attorney-in-fact to act on his behalf while he underwent rehabilitation for his injury. The VA entered this man’s name into NICS and it took him a year and a half and thousands of dollars in lawyer’s fees to clear his name.

The GOP amended the bill (taking a page from the Democrats playbook) to include a provision that states honor concealed carry permits issued by another state. The fact is over 40 states already do so. 

This will stop abuses like the single mother from Pennsylvania who was stopped in New Jersey for a motor vehicle violation. She dutifully told the law enforcement officer that she had a concealed carry permit and had a firearm on her. She was detained and charged under New Jersey law for carrying without a permit and was only saved from jail by a pardon from then-governor Chris Christie.  

The fact is all states require a background check, fingerprints and photographs and other requirements for issuing a concealed carry permit. Some states do not require an applicant demonstrate a level of proficiency with a handgun. Rhode Island does. Some states require applicants to attend a certain number of classroom hours and pass a test. Rhode Island does not. 

All states recognize and honor driver licenses issued by another state although the requirements may differ. The same should be true of concealed carry permits.

Richard J. August

North Kingstown

Comments

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  • Justanidiot

    It is a state's right issue that needs to be addressed that way. Don't like your state's law, change it or move.

    Don't be dragging in the nanny state to regulate guns. Look how well they have done with poverty, education, health care, infrastructure,....

    Thursday, January 11, 2018 Report this

  • TheSkipper

    I've said this before and I'll say it again: Only law abiding citizens who are NOT likely to use a gun in a crime will apply and obtain a legal carry permit. Do you think some MS-13, Bloods, Crips, Cosa Nostra Mafia, Mexican Mafia, Neo Nazi, or Klu Klux Klan members have a permit to carry? Are you really dumb enough to think they don't carry anyway? I'll bet you money you could drive down Elmwood Ave. or Broad street almost anytime of the day and if you had an X-ray metal detector it would pick up at least ONE "outstanding member of the community" hanging on a street corner carrying an illegal pistol in their possession. (probably stolen and with the serial numbers filed off as well.) How many people were shot in Providence last year? were these guns all carried by legally permitted persons? I doubt it. I'd be more likely to say ZERO.

    Permitted people aren't the problem. The problem are the corrupt politicians in this state who think they know better and that carrying a gun is a decision only the "Elite" of the RI state "prefered" should have.

    Years ago I had an uncle with a carry permit. He said "You want one? go see this guy, and this guy and this other guy. Give them X.XX for a donation to their Campaign! You'll have it in a month!" Of course all three of them and my uncle are dead now. but I'm sure "The System" is somehow still in place.

    Friday, January 12, 2018 Report this

  • RISchadenfreude

    It's an individual right- if you wish to exercise it, apply for a permit, complete all the requirements (including the State-imposed ones whose sole purpose is to discourage you), and carry the legally-owned handgun of your choice for self-reliance.

    Your alternative is to rely on the benevolence and forbearance of your fellow man and the timely response and concern of law enforcement.

    Remember: When seconds count, the police are just minutes away!

    Friday, January 12, 2018 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    "Remember: When seconds count, the police are just minutes away!"

    Not true.

    I live next door to a Dunkin so they can be there right away.

    Friday, January 12, 2018 Report this

  • Wuggly

    For some reason we don't educate our children about what the Bill of Rights is. Everyone of the First Ten Amendments places restrictions on Government, not citizens. It grants nothing but recognizes the Citizens Rights. The only ways Rights can be violated is illegally or taken through the criminal justice system where it is shown one citizen has violated the Rights of another.

    @RISchadenfreude- You shouldn't need a permit to exercise your rights.

    Sunday, February 18, 2018 Report this