A week after Parkland: Tell your Senators to SAVE lives, not ENDANGER them!
The Senate will soon consider two bills on gun violence: One will result in deadly consequences, and one will save countless lives.
Contact your Senators NOW and urge them to support the protective S.2135 and stop the dangerous S.446.
In short:
The incredibly dangerous Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act is being attached to the very helpful Fix NICS ( National Instant Criminal Background Check System) bill . Concealed Carry Reciprocity would guarantee that abusers can stalk their intimate partners across state lines while carrying a concealed weapon. Fix NICS, on the other hand, would ensure the FBI’s database is up to date so that domestic violence abusers do not pass background checks. While we want Fix NICS to become law, we can’t support it alongside Concealed Carry Reciprocity.
In detail:
The Fix NICS Act of 2017 (S. 2135) protects victims by dramatically improving the entry of domestic violence records into NICS. Victim advocates know all too well that very few domestic violence protection order records and equally few domestic violence misdemeanor records are entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). When these records are not entered into NICS, abusers can easily obtain illegal firearms by erroneously passing a background check. For the first time in more than a decade, Congress is considering a bipartisan, bicameral, noncontroversial bill that has support from across the political and idealogical spectrum.
S.446, in contrast, would make it terrifyingly easy for abusers to legally carry concealed firearms into other states when stalking their victims. S.446, the ‘Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017’ would undercut existing state and local protections for victims of domestic and dating violence - and replace those protections with the weakest gun laws in the country. It’s a race to the bottom. And survivors of domestic violence will be the losers.
“Concealed carry reciprocity (CCR)” is a complicated name for a law that would make it simple for abusers to threaten and harass - and kill - their intimate partners with firearms.Survivors often relocate to other states to escape their abusers, but S.446 would force every state to accept other states’ concealed carry permits, even if the out-of-state permit was issued to a domestic abuser who would be prohibited from obtaining such a permit in the travel state. Contrary to the bill’s title, this is a clear violation of the Constitution’s recognition of states’ rights, and it is dangerous for victims of domestic violence.
Contact your Senators and urge them to SUPPORT the Fix NICS Act of 2017 (S.2135) and to OPPOSE CCR (S.446).
Sample Scripts:
Phone script:
“My name is [your name], and I am a concerned constituent from [your location and, if applicable, your organization]. I oppose S.446, the ironically named ‘Constitutional Concealed Carry Act of 2017’, which imposes federally-mandated concealed carry reciprocity on my state. S.446 makes it harder for law enforcement to protect victims of domestic violence, puts victims of domestic violence and law enforcement officers at risk of gun violence, is a violation of the Constitution’s guarantee of states’ rights, and makes our communities less safe. In contrast, the Fix NICS Act of 2017, S.2135, will save lives by increasing the submission of domestic violence records to NICS. I urge Senator [Senator’s name] to vote in favor of the Fix NICS Act of 2017 to save lives and against concealed carry reciprocity, which will kill.”
Sample Email:
Dear Senator [Senator’s name],
My name is [your name], and I am a constituent from [your location and, if applicable, organization]. I strongly urge you to oppose S.446, which could have fatal consequences for victims and survivors of domestic violence. S.446, the federally-mandated concealed carry reciprocity bill, would undercut existing state and local protections for victims of domestic and dating violence -- and would replace those protections with the weakest gun laws in the country! Do you want to make it easier for domestic abusers to get guns and to terrorize, stalk, and kill their victims?
S.446 would force every state to accept other states’ concealed carry permits, even if the out-of-state concealed carry permit was issued to a domestic violence offender who would be prohibited from obtaining such a permit in the travel state. This is a clear violation of the Constitution’s recognition of states’ rights, and it is dangerous for victims of domestic violence.
In contrast, the bipartisan, non-contoversial the Fix NICS Act of 2017 (S.2135), will save lives by increasing the submission of domestic violence records into NICS and keep illegal firearms out of the hands of abusers. This bipartisan and bicameral bill is supported by the domestic violence community and organizations across the ideological spectrum. For all of these reasons, I urge you to OPPOSE S.446 and SUPPORT the Fix NICS Act of 2017.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Sample Tweet:
@[Legislator’s Twitter handle] Fed-mandated concealed carry reciprocity harms victims of DV & endangers law enforcement. Fix NICS Act saves lives and protects law enforcement #NoGuns4Abusers #NoS446 #FixNICS
Sample Facebook Post:
As a constituent, I ask you to oppose federally-mandated concealed carry reciprocity (S.446) and support the Fix NICS Act of 2017 (S.2135). Concealed carry makes it harder for law enforcement to protect victims of domestic violence, puts victims of domestic violence and law enforcement officers at risk of gun violence, is a violation of the Constitution’s guarantee of states’ rights, and makes our communities less safe. Fix NICS, in contrast, will protect victims and survivors from abusers with guns by increasing the submission of domestic violence records to NICS.