Date: 2011-11-16
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentleman for his kindness. Who can oppose such a simple amendment. particularly when it is noted that some States do not have this electronic database? The officer who went to his dispatcher. who was doing the right thing. he lost his life. He left behind children. Do we want squinting children getting an immunization shot or getting shot? I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of my amendment #4 to H.R. 822. the "National RighttoCarry Reciprocity Act of 2011." My amendment ensures that a comprehensive database is created to provide a listing of individuals from each State who possess permits and licenses to carry concealed weapons. This amendment would also require that the concealed weapons database be available to law enforcement officers in all States 24hours a day. Failing to implement a national system that would allow law enforcement officials to check the status of individuals who are legally allowed to carry a concealed gun could result in a routine situation. such as a like traffic stops. becoming lifethreatening situation. If an officer discovered a gun during a routine traffic stop. the officer must quickly and accurately determine whether the driver possesses a valid outofstate permit. It is a nearly impossible task for the officer to verify the validity of 48 different carry permits. in the middle what could be a tense or dangerous situation. According to the Majoritys report on this bill. only 12 states maintain an electronic database of concealed carry permits that are immediately accessible to other law enforcement agencies. 7 states cannot provide any real time access to this basic information to outofstate agencies. and 2 states do not even maintain a database for their own purposes. This amendment gives state and local law enforcement a plausible chance to verify whether outofstate concealed carry permits are legitimate Consider for a moment. a police officer in Houston. Texas has just pulled someone over for speeding. The driver. who is a resident of Missouri. gives the officer a concealed carry permit from Utah. which is a state that grants concealed carry permits to nonresidents. Under our current system it is impossible for the officer in Houston to instantly confirm whether or not the driver from Missouri has a valid right to carry a concealed weapon. State and local law enforcement should always be aware of who is carrying loaded. hidden guns in their communities. A local sheriff or police chief would benefit from knowing how many people carrying a concealed weapon have entered their jurisdiction from outofstate. and who those people are. My amendment would give the officer the ability to garner this information from a comprehensive database. this would allow the officer to have an advantage when approaching a vehicle with a potentially armed driver. As it stands officers would have to distinguish between real and fake carry permits issued not only by their own state. but by every state. And in many cases. officers would have to determine whether a person is entitled to carry a gun. which would depend on their state of residence and is nearly impossible to verify quickly. The comprehensive database provides the officer with an information safety net. although my amendment will not address the significant flaws in this legislation. this is an attempt to ensure that law enforcement officers have an additional tool at their disposal. In addition. state authorities would also have information on whether or not the individuals applying for licenses in their state have ever had a license revoke in a different state. Under this bill. local law enforcement will have a difficult time verifying outofstate permits in real time. Pass this amendment to give our local law enforcement officials a fighting chance. A comprehensive database would save lives. as state officials could use this database to determine whether they would be issuing a permit to an individual. who may have had their permit revoked in another state.