MSU slayings heighten push for national concealed carry rule

The slayings of three this week at Michigan State University by a convicted gun felon have given new urgency to a national push for Americans to carry a defensive concealed weapon if they want.

Groups supportive of federal legislation long just sitting on committee tables believe that the killings Monday night will help to turn the nation’s reaction away from gun control and the creation of gun-free zones, including the university, to more defensive actions.

BIDEN GUN BAN AND CRIME WAVE SPARKS HIGHER SALES

“The politicians who are calling for more failed gun laws don’t get it but the record numbers of Americans who are choosing to be their own first line of defense certainly do,” said Katie Pointer Baney, with the U.S. Concealed Carry Association for Saving Lives super PAC.

“It’s time for lawmakers around the country to start supporting law-abiding Americans instead of passing more laws that only protect and empower criminals,” she told Secrets.

The shooter, Anthony McRae, had a gun record but had only served probation in a case that could have sent him to prison for five years. This raises another issue that Congress is looking at: easy prosecutions.

Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw told Detroit’s Fox 2, “2019, he gets arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. It’s a five-year felony. Five-year felony. We already have felony firearms, which was the last time the legislature looked at laws to say, ‘How do we prevent gun crime?’ It’s a mandatory two-year sentence when you use a gun in a crime. This is what he did, so you’re looking at anywhere between 5-7 years that he could have done in prison.”

Shaw added, "He got 18 months probation. That is it. If they would have actually given him the sentence for the crime he did, he’d be in jail still.”

McRae took his own life after the shootings.

The Biden administration and Michigan and congressional liberals immediately called for more gun control after the slayings, but others pushed back.

The Concealed Carry Association's PAC, for example, highlighted the surge in gun purchases, training, and concealed carry applications as crime has grown around the country over the past two years. That is the path to reducing gun crime, said the group.

The association's political arm is, in fact, delivering a massive 150,000 letters of support for national conceal carry legislation long pushed by North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson (R) and Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R).

GET THE INSIDER SCOOP FIRST WITH WASHINGTON SECRETS

The packages from the Republicans would let those with a permit carry in other states that also grant carry permits, making it a national reciprocity agreement.

“Right now, because of an antiquated patchwork of state laws, there are tremendous legal risks to law-abiding gun owners who simply want to protect themselves and their families. As crime continues to ravage communities, Americans are standing up and saying enough is enough. No longer should responsible gun owners be criminalized for acting on their constitutional right to protect themselves or their loved ones,” said Baney.