LGTB group launches campaign against national reciprocity (VIDEO)

Gays Against Guns, an LGTB gun violence prevention group, launched its first ad campaign Thursday against the concealed carry reciprocity proposals pending in Congress.

The latest demonstration from the group, founded in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting last year, features 20 advertisements shot in cities across the country depicting a protester holding a sign that reads “Not in my city” or “Not in my office,” among other randomly chosen locations. A second protester stands in the background, covered in a white veil, representing a victim of gun violence, the group says.

H.R. 38 and S. 446 would bring uniformity to the country’s patchwork of reciprocity agreements by allowing concealed handgun permit holders to carry across state lines — though gun control groups view it as “a dream for the gun lobby.”

HR 38 prime sponsor Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, calls the bill, formally named the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, “a common sense solution to a problem too many Americans face.”

“Our Second Amendment right doesn’t disappear when we cross state lines, and this legislation guarantees that,” he said in a Jan. 4 statement. “This will provide law-abiding citizens the right to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits.”

Kevin Gotkin, a member of Gays Against Guns, says the proposals are “the opposite of common sense.”

“They undermine the safety established in places like New York City, where legislators have worked hard to protect us from gun deaths,” he said.

Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action issued a joint statement  last month condemning the companion bills, with Everytown President John Feinblatt declaring it “a nightmare for public safety.”

“The NRA’s Guns Everywhere bill will mean more gun violence and more gun deaths,” said Brigid McGinn, an activist for GAG. “Federal reciprocity is a direct violation of an individual state’s rights to constitutionally protect its citizens. This is a legislated tragedy waiting to happen.”

The National Rifle Association defended the bills last month, arguing neither establishes “national standards for concealed carry” and still respects states’ laws.

“This legislation would not override state laws governing the time, place or manner of carriage or establish national standards for concealed carry,” reads a Feb. 27 alert from the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Individual state gun laws would still be respected. If under federal law a person is prohibited from carrying a firearm, they will continue to be prohibited from doing so under this bill.”