New bill would allow gun owners their rights on Amtrak (Rep. John Fleming)

This week, I introduced bipartisan legislation that would permit law-abiding gun owners to legally transport firearms on Amtrak trains.  The bill’s original cosponsors include Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL).

The Amtrak Secure Transportation of Firearms Act of 2009, H.R. 3789, is the companion measure to Senator Roger Wicker’s S. 1638.

 
Currently, sportsmen who choose to travel by rail for a hunting trip are left in an impossible situation because of Amtrak prohibitions against checking an unloaded gun with their luggage.  Conversely, these same gun owners are legally allowed to check guns in their luggage on our nation’s airlines. Why should federally-subsidized passenger rail lines be different from U.S. airlines?  The Amtrak Secure Transportation of Firearms Act would require Amtrak to enact regulations similar to those the U.S. airline industry uses to regulate firearm transport on airplanes.  The requirements would apply for any year that Amtrak receives a federal subsidy.
 
The Amtrak Secure Transportation of Firearms Act of 2009 has been endorsed by the Gun Owners of America.

“Gun Owners of America strongly supports legislation introduced by Rep. John Fleming that will allow law-abiding gun owners to safely and legally transport firearms when they travel on Amtrak trains,” said John Velleco, Gun Owners of America Director of Federal Affairs.  “Under Rep. Fleming’s legislation, travelers would be able to transport a firearm at Amtrak stations that accept checked baggage as long as the firearm is declared and carried in a hard-sided, locked container.”

The National Rifle Association has also offered its support for the bill.