Minnesotans who hold permits to carry concealed guns could soon be able to carry their firearms in all 50 states, a move advocates said would preserve the right to self-defense wherever people travel in the country, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. But law enforcement leaders in Minnesota and around the country are raising concerns that the proposal, which passed the U.S. House this month, could harm public safety and mean looser regulation of guns in states like Minnesota, with stricter permit requirements than other places. The measure’s prospects are less certain in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to prevent Democrats from blocking its progress. But so-called concealed carry reciprocity is the top legislative priority for the NRA.
The proposal has put Republicans at odds with prosecutors around the country. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, the president of the National District Attorneys Association, said most prosecutors — particularly those overseeing large urban areas — do not support conceal carry reciprocity “because it’s a dive to the bottom” in terms of oversight of guns. “It simply doesn’t make any public-safety sense,” Freeman said. The bill has divided Minnesota’s congressional delegation and put some members under political pressure. The issue hasn’t neatly divided along partisan lines. Some conservatives see the measure as an infringement on states’ rights.