House duo promote their Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform bill

In the wake of the introduction of their bill to remove legal burdens on law-abiding citizens who own guns, U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Alex Mooney (R-WV) spoke out on Monday in support of the legislation.

“As a staunch supporter and defender of the Second Amendment, I’m committed to eliminating the archaic red tape burdening gun owners who legally purchase firearms across the nation,” Scalise, the House majority whip, said. “For decades now, our gun laws have made it harder and more costly to legally purchase guns in other states and then safely bring them home. I’m proud to introduce this legislation with my friend and colleague, Rep. Alex Mooney, in order to remove these burdensome and unnecessary restrictions so we can bring firearm laws into the 21st century.”

The Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act would allow the following:

• Licensed dealers would be able to transfer firearms (rifles, shotguns and handguns) to out-of-state buyers as long as the transaction complies with the laws of the states where the buyer and seller live.
• Licensed dealers would be able to sell firearms at out-of-state gun shows, provided that the laws of the states where the buyer and seller live are followed.

• Face-to-face transfers of firearms between licensed dealers would be allowed. Currently, dealers must ship firearms to other dealers in transactions, significantly increasing the risk of theft in the process.

• Members of the armed forces and their spouses would be able to purchase firearms as residents of their states of legal residence, the state in which their permanent duty station is located and the state in which they maintain a residence while serving at their permanent duty station. Currently, members of the armed forces may only purchase firearms as residents of the state in which their permanent duty station is located.

“I promised the people of West Virginia’s Second Congressional District that I would defend their right to keep and bear arms,” Mooney said. “This bill delivers on that promise. This legislation will eliminate outdated, burdensome restrictions that make it unacceptably difficult for law-abiding citizens to buy and sell firearms. The bill also protects the Second Amendment rights of our military service members, who sacrifice so much to protect our freedoms.”

The NRA has endorsed the Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act, and the list of supporters is expected to grow. In last year’s session of Congress, Scalise introduced a similar measure that garnered the backing of over 70 co-sponsors.

“The Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act eases an unreasonable burden mistakenly placed upon the men and women of our armed forces, while streamlining a patchwork of incredibly confusing and antiquated regulations for law-abiding gun owners across the nation,” Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said. “This is an important issue to our members, and we thank Congressmen Scalise and Mooney for their leadership on Second Amendment issues.”