BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is encouraging its members to contact their U.S. senators and congressional representatives in support of Sen. John Cornyn’s Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015.

“We think that Sen. Cornyn’s proposal is long overdue, now that all 50 states have adopted some form of concealed carry legislation,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Law-abiding citizens can drive their cars across the country on their state-issued driver’s licenses, and it’s time that states acknowledge that the right to keep and bear arms is not confined to one’s home state.

“After all,” he added, “the right to defend one’s self doesn’t end at the state line.”

Gottlieb noted that perennial anti-gun Sen. Charles Schumer of New York has already decried the bill, S. 498, as “a menace to New York.” He called it another example of Schumer’s campaign of paranoia to push gun control.

“Senator Schumer didn’t waste any time finding a microphone to unleash his scare tactics,” Gottlieb observed. “He immediately threatened to fight this legislation ‘tooth-and-nail,’ so it is no surprise that he rolled out the rhetoric almost before Cornyn had finished with his announcement.

“It’s kind of disingenuous for Chuck Schumer to start whining about ‘potentially dangerous people’ bringing guns into New York grocery stores, theaters and other venues without notifying the police,” he added. “New York criminals have been doing that for years, and he knows it. Perish the thought that a legally-armed private citizen from anywhere might just want to be on a level playing field with Empire State street hoodlums.”

Republican Sen. Cornyn has bipartisan support for his measure, including Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, and there’s an identical companion bill in the House, HR 923, sponsored by Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana.

“Gun prohibitionists like Schumer have contended for years we ought to treat gun ownership like car ownership,” Gottlieb stated. “Well, here’s a chance for Schumer to put up or shut up and support legislation to recognize concealed carry as a national right.”