Nutter seeks national help against U.S. gun proposal

Mayor Nutter has called for mayors in 600 U.S. cities and towns to gather 25,000 petition signatures opposing proposed federal gun legislation.

In a letter Thursday to members of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Nutter said the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 would "eviscerate the ability of individual states to decide who can carry a hidden, loaded gun."

Nutter's letter said the legislation "would force every state to honor concealed carry permits from every other state, no matter how low they set their standards."

The law already has the backing of more than half the members of the House.

One of the bill's sponsors, U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R., Fla.), said on his website the requirement for states to recognize one another's permits was similar to how "they recognize drivers' licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards."

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has criticized the bill in congressional testimony, citing the problem of concealed-weapons permits from Florida being used in Philadelphia.

An Inquirer analysis of Florida state information showed a threefold increase in the number of Florida permits issued to Philadelphians in the last five years, with many of the permits going to areas plagued by heavy drug traffic.

Florida and Pennsylvania have different licensing requirements. Some people rejected for permits in Pennsylvania have gotten mail-order permits from Florida that can be used to carry concealed weapons here.

Ramsey has posted a public petition against the proposal on the White House's "We the People" website.

The site for the petition is: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/preserve-our-states-rights-decide-who-can-carry-hidden-loaded-guns/Ll0QPXbV?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl