An amendment to end the complete gun prohibition on Amtrak trains passed overwhelmingly Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 68-30. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) offered the amendment to allow law-abiding gun owners to safely and legally transport firearms when they travel on Amtrak.
Current Amtrak regulations prohibit firearms in both checked and carry-on baggage. But Sen. Wicker's amendment prohibits any federal taxpayer funding of Amtrak if it does not allow gun owners to transport firearms on trains in a manner similar to that of airlines.
Under this amendment, travelers would be able to transport a firearm from Amtrak stations that accept checked baggage as long as the firearm is declared and carried in a hard-sided, locked container.
The amendment was attached to the 2010 Transportation-Housing & Urban Development Appropriations bill and must now be reconciled with the House-passed bill, which does not contain the Wicker amendment.
Also:
-- JFP person of the Day: Roger Wicker; http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/jfp_person_of_the_day_roger_wicker_092209/
-- Speaking Out Against Firearms on Amtrak, http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/22725/
-- The not-great train robbery: Uninformed Senate holds up Amtrak over matter of armed travel; http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.amtrak22sep22,0,6287226.story
-- Corzine fighting to keep firearms off the railways of N.J.; http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/corzine-fighting-to-keep-firearms-off-the-railways-of-nj
