My personal opinion is that the twin Bills, H.R. 578 and S. 1908 are a better choice to support than H.R. 2959. These twin Bills have several advantages over H.R. 2959:
(1) They recognize that there are states that do not require a permit/license to carry concealed firearms and have a provision for residents from those states to carry in all other states.
(2) They have a provision that if states issue various permits/licenses to carry concealed firearms which have varying restrictions such as where, in the state, those permits/licenses are valid, then out-of-state permits/licenses must be treated the same as the most unrestricted permit/license issued by that state.
However, all 3 of these bills have a major short-coming; these Bills do not extend the exemption contained in the Gun Free School Zones Act for holders of permits/licenses issued by the State in which the school zone is located, to holders of permits/licenses issued by other States, even if the out-of-state permit/license is recognized by the State in which the school zone is located. This omission is a serious restriction that needs to be addressed in these Bills since the Gun Free School Zones Act is a Federal regulation [18 U.S.C. § 922(q)]. Without this exemption, out-of-state permits/licenses are not valid within 1,000 feet of any “school zone”. The term "school zone" means:
(A) in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school; or
(B) within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school.
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(26) the term "school" means a school which provides elementary or secondary education, as determined under State law.
