BELLEVUE, WA – Republican Congressman Richard Hudson has been honored by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms as the 2017 “Gun Rights Legislator of the Year,” during this year’s Gun Rights Policy Conference in Dallas, Texas.

Congressman Hudson, who represents North Carolina’s 8th District, is sponsor of the proposed Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. If passed, it would protect the rights of more than 16.5 million legally-licensed private citizens who have qualified under their states’ laws to carry a firearm for personal protection.

While Rep. Hudson was not able to attend the conference, he was honored by CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, who recognizes the significance of the congressman’s proposed law.

“National reciprocity is an idea whose time has come,” Gottlieb said. “We were impressed when Congressman Hudson introduced the legislation earlier this year, and we know that millions of law-abiding gun owners across the country are hopeful it will pass.”

Under provisions of the proposed Act, legally-licensed or permitted citizens would be able to carry their sidearms in other states, in accordance with the laws of those states, without fear of prosecution.

“There are now 212 co-sponsors who have signed onto Hudson’s legislation,” Gottlieb noted. “That speaks volumes about the importance of this measure in all corners of the nation. Since the Second Amendment was incorporated to the states via the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago, there has been growing interest in reciprocity legislation, and no rational excuse for it not becoming law.

“We can think of no better recipient of this award than Rep. Hudson,” he concluded. “National reciprocity would help reinforce the Second Amendment as the cornerstone of the Bill of Rights.”