SACRAMENTO, CA (December 4, 2017) — Today, civil rights advocacy organization Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) submitted additional written testimony to House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) regarding H.R.38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, as well as H.R.4477, the Fix NICS Act of 2017.

FPC Spokesperson Craig DeLuz said that the organization supports strong carry reciprocity and expanded access to the fundamental, individual right to bear arms. 

“We are heartened to see H.R.38 moving forward and look forward to its passage, hopefully with the amendments we’ve suggested to improve the bill and its protection of law-abiding people and their rights,” he said. 

In a November 29 hearing, the House Judiciary Committee passed amendments that give special gun rights to Federal judges and government employees. About these, DeLuz commented, “Recent amendments seem to be going the wrong way, but the bill’s core reciprocity provisions are still intact. Our hope is that the issues we raised will be taken care of before being signed into law.” 

H.R.38 is scheduled to be next heard by the House Rules Committee at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 5, along with H.R.4477, a bill to create new laws about background checks and reporting of information.

“H.R. 4477 is a well-intentioned bill that attempts to improve the NICS background check system,” explained DeLuz. “But it does have some weaknesses that give us pause. Coming from a state with a powerful anti-gun executive branch and no shortage of gun control laws, we are very sensitive to how things actually work on the ground.”

“We are cautiously optimistic that the issues we discussed in our latest round of testimony will be remedied through appropriate amendments,” DeLuz concluded.

A copy of FPC’s letters regarding H.R.38 can be viewed or downloaded at http://PassHR38.com, where gun owners who wish to send letters supporting H.R.38 may use FPC’s free Grassroots Action Tools.

A copy of FPC’s letter regarding H.R.4477 can be viewed or downloaded at http://bit.ly/fpc-hr4477-house-rules.

FPC has also established #OurGunVote, a grassroots campaign to urge pro-gun bill passage in the House and Senate, available at http://www.ourgunvote.com/.

Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially the fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.