The gun rights lobby wasted no time issuing its opinion of Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane's decision to sign a letter opposing federal legislation on the carrying of concealed firearms.
Kane signed a letter with nine sitting attorneys general - all of them Democrats - urging Congressional leaders to reject bills mandating states recognize concealed carry permits from all other states.
The National Rifle Association pounced on Kane issuing an email alert to its Pennsylvania members, saying the newly-elected Democrat "does not support your right-to-carry."
"While it should come as no surprise, Pennsylvania Attorney General-Elect Kathleen Kane is wasting no time in demonstrating her hostility towards your Second Amendment rights even before she takes office next month," the email said.
The coalition of attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, argues the bills trample on states’ rights by "overriding our states’ legislative and regulatory authority to determine who can – and who cannot – carry hidden and loaded guns in public."
They said the legislation would hinder their ability to pursue felons, including gun traffickers, and to quickly verify out-of-state permits.
Pennsylvania has formal reciprocity agreements with 18 states.
These agreements are often contingent on states having comparable permitting standards, the attorneys general letter said.
For example, authorities in Nevada and New Mexico made the decision to stop recognizing carry permits issued by Utah, which does not require live-fire instruction as part of its training requirements. Nevada has also ended reciprocity with Florida, which only requires individuals to renew their permits every seven years. States would lose this discretion under forced reciprocity.
The NRA urged its members to contact Kane and "respectfully" urge her to drop her name from the list.
Kane, the first woman and the first Democrat elected Pennsylvania attorney general, is set to be sworn in on Jan. 15.
 

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