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

Im so glad my dear friend rose to speak to the new phenomenon of apples and oranges. My friends. I am not coddling criminals. We know this is a distinctive bill that is not addressing the question of criminals who come to do us harm. What we are suggesting is that guns kill. and we are suggesting that people use guns to kill. On that lonely. dark road at 3 a.m.. when that trooper identifies your drivers license but cant identify whether or not you have a legitimate concealedweapon permit to carry. then we are asking for you to have help. Were asking for there to be 24hour notification. I am sure there will be the possibility of waivers. but dont tell me that a law enforcement entity. once known that they can go to the documentation that has the notification that someone is coming in from another State with a concealed weapon. will not find it useful. In fact. it will help this law enforcement officer tell this individual carrying legally. On your way. sir. On your way. maam. Thank you. Or. in essence. we might catch someone who has a concealed weapon and a permit from another State. but that person is rushing across the State to get away from a wife or a husband and has been in a violent domestic abuse or a domestic violence altercation. So let me just say. for all of the laughers. guns kill. and it is a shame that we allow the ghost of the NRA to ride into this place and just smack down common sense. Save the lives of children because guns kill. Save the lives of law enforcement officers who leave behind children. because guns kill. Dont fool around with the NLET process. which doesnt even work. Lets notify. I ask for the support of my amendment. Mr. Chair. I rise today in support of my amendment No. 8 to H.R. 822. the "National RighttoCarry Reciprocity Act of 2011." My amendment ensures that any person seeking to possess a concealed weapon in a state other than the state that issued the concealed carry permit must provide at least 24 hours advance notice to law enforcement agencies of their intention to carry or possess a concealed handgun in another State. States must retain their ability to know which individuals are allowed. under this newly proposed bill. to possess and carry concealed weapons within their borders. This measure would require an individual to notify out of state law enforcement. 24 hours in advance. of their intention to possess or carry a concealed weapon into the borders of a State in which those individuals are not licensed. In its current form. the bill will have a difficult time verifying out of state permits in real time. endangering their lives. and the lives of the public. State and local law enforcement must always be aware of who is carrying loaded. hidden guns. This information will give law enforcement a fighting chance as they protect their communities. I believe that an amendment requiring prompt and adequate notification to law enforcement officials regarding an out of state individuals intention to carry a concealed weapon is necessary to protect the safety of the public and to protect the safety of the men and women who protect the public. According to the Majoritys report on this bill. only 12 states maintain electronic databases 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. and 2 states do not even maintain databases. Currently. there are several states that have implemented time requirements to ensure the safety of their citizens when dealing with a variety of weapons. This amendment will create a standard that is sure to provide law enforcement with the information desperately needed to keep the public safe from unknown harms. This is a fundamental states rights issue. The measure before us today takes away a states right to set their own criteria for determining who should be allowed to carry a fire arm within their borders. Texas has robust handgun concealed carry laws and these laws would only undermine the criteria established by my home state. This measure would bolster the protections that Texas and many other states seek to implement to protect their citizens from gun violence. Texas standard to attain a permit is currently higher than current federal law and the requirements of a number of other states. As it stands Texas already honors the permits of 39 other states. which only emphasizes that this can be address at the state level. One of my main concerns is that the lives and safety of men and women working in the line of duty will be compromised if we fail to effectuate this amendment requiring a 24hour advance notice of out of state individuals carrying concealed weapons. Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line for us every day. Since 2009 least 122 law enforcement officers have been shot and killed. with an average of one officer killed by gunfire each week. Since the beginning of 2011. guns have killed at least 30 law enforcement officers. It is important that the very men and women who put their lives on the line are the very men and women who have instant access to information on whether on not the individual they are approaching during a routine traffic stop is armed. In 2009. Houston Police Officer Timothy Abernathy was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop. An 11 year Veteran of the Houston Police Department. Officer Abernathy stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic violation. This should have been routine. but the suspect shot Officer Abernathy in the head. killing him. Officer Abernathy was 43 years old. Gun violence is dangerous to all Americans. In 2010. approximately 8.775 people were killed by firearms. 6.000 of those deaths were caused by handguns. In 2010. 152 of those killed by guns were law enforcement officers. Each year. there are approximately 16.000 assaults on police officers. and many of those attacks utilize firearms. The facts are quite simple. If we are going to ask state and local law enforcement officials to put their lives on the line every day for the safety of our communities. we owe it to them to know who is carrying a loaded and concealed weapon. Establishing a database of individuals with concealed carry permits could save a life. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment to H.R. 822 in order to ensure that we act fervently to protect the lives of those who risk their lives for the general public on a daily basis. Again. this amendment will strengthen a States ability to continue its efforts to protect the safety of its citizens and law enforcement officials. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas .