President Obama may not be able to duck gun issues much longer, says National Journal columnist Ronald Brownstein. This month, the House decisively passed legislation backed by the National Rifle Association that would require any state allowing residents to carry concealed weapons to recognize permits issued by every other state. States with stringent training or age requirements on who is allowed to carry concealed weapons would have to recognize permits from by states with laxer standards—all by federal fiat.
If the legislation reaches the Senate floor, it has a solid chance of obtaining the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster. Obama has been conspicuously silent, to the mounting frustration of big-city mayors. John Feinblatt, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's policy adviser, noted that after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), the president promised to lead a national conversation about guns. “We're still waiting,” Feinblatt said. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) says the measure does little more than replicate the requirement that each state recognize driver's licenses from another. State standards over access to guns vary more than ndards over access to a driver's license.