Bills aim to make it legal for CCWs to cross state lines

LEBANON, Ohio (WKRC) - Thousands of truck drivers are breaking the law by carrying firearms across state lines, but is the problem the truck driver or the laws?

"It’s dangerous out there. You never can tell,” said Cliff Brown, a truck driver from Florida.

"You get these young guys who want to see if a truck driver’s got money on them,” said Patrick Kent, a truck driver from Louisiana. “They want it; they’re going to come in and try and get it."

Of the 3.5 million class-eight truck drivers that the American Trucking Association says are on the road, a good number of them are like Brown.

"I have a concealed carry from Florida," said Brown.

It's legal for him to carry his handgun in Florida, but not in California, New York or a dozen other states. If his permit were from Ohio, he couldn't drive in Minnesota or Illinois or 10 other states legally. Indiana drivers can't legally go with their concealed weapons to 18 states. Kentucky drivers can’t legally go to 13 states, including Maryland.

Brown says he carries a 9mm handgun because he needs to protect himself, especially at night.

And the trucks keep streaming in to the Lebanon truck stop. It’s tough to find a parking spot at night time, certainly. But even during the day, most spots are filled up. It leaves truck drivers no choice but to park in places that just aren’t safe.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows in 2017, 23 truck drivers died in the United States as a result of violence. The website CargoNet reports 328 crimes on truck drivers in the third quarter of 2018 alone. It's part of why Congress is debating the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2019, which seeks to force states to recognize concealed carry permits across state lines like they recognize driver's licenses and marriages.

"I find it ironic that we're being lectured by people from big cities with a lot of gun control measures but have some of the worst crime in the nation,” says the House bill’s sponsor, Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina.

"We must change our approach to gun violence and adopt meaningful legislation that strengthens our gun laws as opposed to weakening them,” says Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York. “And we must not undermine the efforts of states to defend their citizens against these arms.”

"I got a weapon, but I can’t carry it here. It's illegal," said Kent.

The current situation leaves Kent feeling vulnerable, he says.

"I got a bat back there,” said Kent. “But I feel unsafe because a bat has no defense against a gun."

And it leaves Brown feeling like he has no option but to break the law.

"You’re not going to be jumping in my truck,” said Brown. “And to be honest with you, I’m willing to pay the consequence by standing my ground."

Ohio recognizes all other states' concealed carry permits. Concealed Carry Reciprocity bills are currently making their way through their respective houses of Congress, but none have made their way to the floors for a vote.