A North Carolina congressman is hoping a new Congress, a new president and a new year will translate into fewer restrictions on carrying concealed guns across state lines.
Currently a concealed carry permit for a handgun issued in one state is not always valid in another.
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, says it's confusing for gun owners. He plans to introduce a bill in the new Congress that would make a concealed weapons permit valid in any state that allows them.
"I think the concealed carry permit ought to operate like a driver's license," Hudson said. "If I drive from North Carolina to Virginia to Maryland. I don't have to stop at each border and take a new driver's test."
Hudson tried to pass the bill last year.
"We had a Senate that was unwilling to work for us and a president unwilling to sign the bill," Hudson said. "Now we have a president who has made this a priority."
Democrats in Congress have tried over the last few years to pass new gun control measures. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., was one of the organizers of an all night sit-in last summer on the floor of the House of Representatives by Democrats. The purpose of the sit-in was to push for votes on gun control bills.
"I'm very concerned that somehow this election is being seen as going against what the American people have been asking for, which is common-sense gun safety provisions," Clark said.
Clark said she's opposed to Hudson's concealed carry bill.
"I think when you make a national policy, you are eroding the very provisions states and municipalities put in place," Clark said.
Some states recognize out-of-state concealed carry permits, but many do not. The issue is left up to state law.
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