House Republicans are trying to bait Democrats into loosening gun laws

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.

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the sponsor of the concealed-carry measure, admitted that the legislative package had additionally been delayed by recent tragedies. "You might have seen this move a few weeks sooner had Las Vegas hadn't happened," he said. On Oct. 1, a gunman killed 58 people and left more than 500 injured on the Las Vegas Strip after opening fire on an outdoor concert; just one month later, on Nov. 5, a separate gunman killed more than 20 people in a Texas church.

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Regardless of the compromises offered by the GOP, House Democrats are not fans of allowing concealed-carry permits to be valid from state to state. "Essentially, we are telling states who are responsible in the requirements that they place on their concealed-carry permits that that doesn't matter anymore," said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).