Police chiefs implore Congress not to pass concealed-carry law

WASHINGTON — The nation’s police chiefs are rising up against another conservative crime-fighting initiative, sending a letter to leaders of Congress on Thursday opposing a bill that would allow gun owners with concealed-carry permits in one state to carry their concealed weapons in all 50 states.

The letter from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, representing 18,000 police departments across the United States, and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans targets the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act,” which passed the House in December and is now assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The letter is endorsed by 473 police officials from 39 states, from large departments such as Los Angeles and Atlanta to small departments such as Spanish Fork, Utah, and Falls Church, Virginia.

“This legislation,” the letter states, “is a dangerous encroachment on individual state efforts to protect public safety, and it would effectively nullify duly enacted state laws and hamper law enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence.”

The letter sets up a second conflict between American law enforcement on one hand and Republicans in Congress and the White House on the other.

Last fall, a group of current and former big city chiefs of police and prosecutors urged the Trump administration not to return to the era of “lock ‘em all up” policing by seeking maximum sentences and reducing oversight of police departments.

The call was in response to initiatives announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The group Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration said that modern policing techniques had reduced crime significantly and did not need to be rolled back.

On concealed weapons, states currently issue permits to individual gun owners to carry concealed weapons, and different states have different criteria for issuing the permits. Some states require training and proof of proficiency, while some states require no qualifications.

Some states recognize the permits of certain other states, but many do not. And a dozen states now have “constitutional carry,” meaning weapons can be concealed without a permit.

The bill in Congress would require all states simply to recognize the permits of all other states, regardless of the conditions imposed by individual states for obtaining the permits.