A Republican Congressman says Speaker Paul Ryan told him he didn’t think the “timing was right” for moving on either the national concealed carry reciprocity bill introduced in January or a bill requiring Washington D.C. to recognize out-of-state concealed carry permits.
Calling in from right outside the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) started off his Sept. 7 appearance on “Armed American Radio” by telling host Mark Walters why he introduced H.R. 2909, otherwise known as the D.C. Personal Protection Reciprocity Act, in the wake of the congressional shooting in Alexandria, Va.
“I would tell you this is a gun-free zone except that I know the criminals are carrying every day,” Massie said of the area he was calling from, according to Ammoland. “It is only a 10-mile gun-free zone for law-abiding citizens. That’s the problem they had the day of the shooting. The shooting happened in Virginia, but everybody was coming from Washington D.C. and had to return to Washington D.C. Although Virginia’s a reciprocity state, and most everybody with a permit could have been carrying in Virginia, they couldn’t carry in D.C. where they started their day and where they were going to end their day.
“Were it not for the fact that one person there had police protection—because he’s a member of the leadership here in Congress—there would’ve been multiple casualties.”
When Walters asked him about the status of H.R. 2909, Massie said he has over 80 co-sponsors right now, and he’s pushing for a hearing in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where the bill currently sits.
Similarly, H.R. 38, also known as the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, is stalled in the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
“Why haven’t we seen movement over either 38 or 2909 since the horrific events in Virginia?” Walters asked.
“You know what?” Massie replied, “The Speaker told me he didn’t think the timing was right. And I said ‘this is the exact timing to bring this bill.’ And so it is frustrating for me.
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“Listen, I was no fan of John Boehner,” Massie continued, “but even under John Boehner, I was allowed to offer an amendment to the DC Appropriations Bill to defund all their gun control laws. It passed in the House. Frankly, I was shocked myself. We got all but four Republicans to vote for it and 20 Democrats voted to defund all of Washington DC’s gun control laws about three years ago when I got this bill to the floor. And there was no impetus or event that created the momentum for it that you typically see behind something like that.”
But even after the congressional shooting in Virginia, “Paul Ryan will not let me bring that amendment to the floor, even though John Boehner did, and even though Paul Ryan voted for my amendment,” Massie said.
To hear the full interview, go to armedamericanradio.org.
