House Republicans are trying to bait Democrats into loosening gun laws

Gun store.
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

House Republicans want to pass legislation to allow concealed-carry permits to be recognized across state lines — and they apparently have a plan to make Democrats do their bidding. McClatchy reported Monday that Republican lawmakers will combine their concealed-carry legislation with proposals strengthening federal background checks and regulating the use of "bump stocks," both of which are supported by Democrats, to give the measure more of a chance to pass.

The lower-chamber Republicans are hoping Democrats take the bait, but neither proposal goes as far as Democrats would like. The bump stocks provision only asks the Justice Department to rule on the legality of longer sentences for the use of the devices, while the proposal on background checks reportedly stops short of extending the three-day waiting period for purchasing guns.

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Kelly O'Meara Morales

Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.