Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty
Before leaving for the holidays, the Republican-led House passed legislation to allow gun owners with a concealed-carry permit from one state to carry a handgun in any state that allows concealed weapons, NJ.com reported. Shaneen Allen, the woman who inspired the legislation, is African American and has become a darling of the GOP and the National Rifle Association.
“Hopefully I’ll be at the White House next to (President) Trump signing this bill. Republicans put their money where their mouth was,” Allen told the Associated Press.
https://twitter.com/SOTUSACS/status/946175702742851584
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), who authored the legislation, pointed to Allen’s story to justify the need for the first significant congressional action on guns since the mass shootings in Las Vegas. Allen, a 30-year-old phlebotomist, stepped onto the national stage in October 2013 after a New Jersey police officer pulled her over for making an unsafe lane change.
The single mother of two from Philadelphia told the officer that she was carrying a gun and had a Pennsylvania-issued concealed carry permit. New Jersey, however, is among the states with the strictest gun control laws. She spent 48 days in jail and faced a felony charge, but New Jersey’s Republican Gov. Chris Christie granted her a pardon.
Allen bought her gun after getting robbed for a second time in one year. Getting arrested and facing a three-year prison sentence for gun possession prompted Allen to switch parties to become a Republican and a proud Trump supporter. She now speaks at rallies and lobbies lawmakers for gun rights. The measure that she inspired awaits Senate approval. It has the powerful backing of the NRA and 23 attorneys general from red states.
Meet Shaneen Allen, The Black Woman Behind A Gun Rights Bill That Republicans Love was originally published on newsone.com
