The U.S. Senate passed, by 68 votes to 30 today, an amendment to the Transportation and Housing Appropriations bill, that will allow Amtrak passengers to carry guns in their checked luggage.
At present all American domestic airlines and other passenger railroads allow their passengers to carry firearms in their checked luggage. But, as the
Associated Press reports, following the Madrid train bombings in 2004 Amtrak has banned the carrying of any type of weapon on its trains, having initially tightened restrictions following the September 11 attacks.
Before the attacks in 2001 firearms were permitted by Amtrak if they were appropriately secured.
The amendment voted on today, sponsored by Roger Wicker, a Republican Senator for Mississippi, was not included in the House version of the bill which passed in July. Consequently, the
Associated Press notes, the House-approved bill must be reconciled with the Senate version.
Speaking about his amendment, which means that Amtrak will lose out on $1.6 billion in federal subsidies if it does not revise its policy on the carrying of guns on its trains, Senator Wicker said:
Americans should not have their Second Amendment rights restricted for any reason, particularly if they choose to travel on America's federally subsidized rail line
A number of Democrats, majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada among them, and liberal-leaning Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont voted in favor of the amendment.
Opponents of the amendment included Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois and Senator Patty Murray of Washington. Ms Murray, one of those chiefly responsible for the bill to which the amendment relates, believes today's vote will place a heavy financial burden on the government-owned passenger train service, which first came in to being in 1971.
CNN reports her as saying:
In order to receive any federal funding under this amendment, Amtrak would have six months to build a process for checking and tracking firearms. It would have to find the manpower necessary to screen and guard firearms, and it would have to purchase the equipment necessary. Now, there is nothing in the underlying appropriations to pay for any of that. So this amendment is going to put a severe burden on them, and if they do not comply, Amtrak will shut down
Meanwhile Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a non-profit organization whose mission statement says it is "devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities", raised no objections to the amendment, provided proper security measures are in place. However Mr Helmke added that he thought some Senators had voted in favor of the amendment in order to endear themselves to the National Rifle Association, after having angered the association during votes on other issues.
According to
CNN the guidelines accompanying the amendment state that a passenger must declare there is an unloaded firearm in their luggage before it is checked or before they board the train. In addition the firearm must be carried in a locked, hard-sided container for which only the passenger carrying the firearm has a key or combination.
