Dear future President, I respectfully ask you to create national reciprocity for concealed gun permit holders allowing the permit from any state valid in every state. Law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise their constitutional right regardless of what state they are in.

You will, without a doubt, be confronted by someone who just doesn’t seem to understand what the Second Amendment means. This is understandable as there is a lot going on in people’s lives and if this particular issue doesn’t affect them directly, they are less likely to spend time learning about it. This is an opportunity for you to be an ambassador for the Second Amendment.

Owning a gun is a right, not a privilege. Someone could try and make the argument that if you have to have a license to drive a car, why shouldn’t you have to have one to own a gun? Owning a car is not a right, it is a privilege. There is no specific right to own or drive a car. A license generally isn’t required to own a car.

Someone might also say gun ownership is a collective right of the people (not individuals), and that guns must be controlled by the government. In the landmark 2008 District of Columbia V. Heller decision, the Supreme Court stated: “Nowhere else in the Constitution does a ‘right’ attributed to ‘the people’ refer to anything other than an individual right” D.C. v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570.580 (2008). This led them to the conclusion: “there seems to us no doubt, on the basis of both text and history, that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms.” D.C v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570. 595 (2008)

Someone might also argue the Second Amendment right was intended only for firearms that existed at the time the constitution was drafted. Technological developments couldn’t have been foreseen by the Founding Fathers. If this was true, then the First Amendment doesn’t apply to radio, movies, television or the internet. Once again, the Supreme Court agrees, stating: “Some have made the argument, bordering on the frivolous, that only those arms in existence in the 18th century are protected by the Second Amendment. We do not interpret constitutional rights that way. Just as the First Amendment protects modern forms of communication and the Fourth Amendment applies to modern forms of search, the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.” D.C. v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570,582 (2008)

I believe in my right to bear firearms. Please be an advocate of an individual’s right to own weapons and pass a bill creating national reciprocity for concealed carry permit holders. I respectfully thank you for taking the time to consider my request.

Sincerely,

Lainey B., Billings, MT

Work Cited                                                                                                                                                                   

Posted at 12:32 Pm on November 14, 2016 by Bob Owens. "Concealed Carry Reciprocity Is Great, But Let's Talk Constitutional Carry." Bearing Arms. N.p., 14 Nov. 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. http://bearingarms.com/bob-o/2016/11/14/concealed-carry-reciprocity-or-constitutional-carry/

"District of Columbia v. Heller." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_v._Heller

@BreitbartNews. "WSJ: GOP, NRA Preparing Slate of Pro-Gun Bills for President-elect Donald Trump - Breitbart." Breitbart. N.p., 25 Nov. 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/25/wsj-gop-nra-preparing-slate-of-pro-gun-bills-for-president-elect-donald-trump/