Sharply expand concealed-carry... That's what we need...

House GOP leaders preparing to bring gun measures to the floor

By KYLE CHENEY and JOHN BRESNAHAN

House Republican leaders are preparing to move ahead with a package of gun legislation that would sharply expand concealed-carry rights but also address policies that came into play during two recent mass shootings. The proposal is expected to come to the floor as soon as next week.

GOP leaders conducted a full whip count of the plan Thursday and sensed enough support from colleagues to bring up the measure, a combination of three proposals that would include a major policy win for gun rights advocates but also seek to placate those clamoring for policy changes after two of the worst shooting massacres in American history — in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Sutherland Springs, Texas.

The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, a bill initially offered by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), would permit anyone with a valid concealed-carry permit to transport firearms into any other state that also allows for concealed-carry permits. The measure is strongly favored by the National Rifle Association but has drawn fierce opposition from gun control advocates who say it effectively nullifies restrictions passed in states that want to limit the practice.

The measure would be combined with a bipartisan proposal to stiffen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System , the national system of criminal background checks managed by the FBI. Calls for an NICS revamp grew louder after the Nov. 5 shooting in Sutherland Springs that left 26 churchgoers dead. After the shooting, the Air Force revealed that it had failed to report the gunman’s conviction on domestic violence in 2012 to the database, which would have barred him from making a lawful gun purchase.

The proposal, a bipartisan bill offered by Reps. John Culberson (R-Texas) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), would require federal agencies and states to produce implementation plans for sharing data with the NICS system and to verify the accuracy of the data they provide. It would also reward states that comply with more funding and incentives, and would provide more resources to federal agencies working to comply.

The package would also include a measure offered by Rep. Karen Handel (R-Ga.) that would seek the opinion of the attorney general about whether current criminal law already allows more severe sentences for those who use “bump stocks” in the commission of a crime.

The gunman in the Oct. 1 Las Vegas massacre, which left more than 50 dead and hundreds wounded, was later discovered to have used bump stocks, devices that can increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic weapon, to maximize the carnage. Lawmakers in both parties have called for an outright ban on the sale and manufacture of bump stocks.