Guns On Amtrak.

Via The New York Times, the Senate voted to approve the transport of locked, unloaded guns in checked baggage on Amtrak trains--the same way airline passengers are allowed to:

The provision, which was introduced by Senator Roger Wicker, Republican, as an amendment to a housing and transportation spending bill, is the latest in a string of Senate votes aimed at expanding gun rights. It passed 68-30, with a group of 27 Democrats and one independent, mostly from states where gun rights are widely supported, joining all 40 Republicans in voting for the measure.

Under the Wicker amendment, Amtrak would lose the funds earmarked for it in the must-pass spending bill if it did not comply with the new regulations. In a statement released after the amendment passed, Mr. Wicker stressed that the guidelines laid out in the provision — which would also insist that a passenger notify Amtrak that he or she is transporting a handgun and that only that passenger could unlock the secure container holding the gun — are roughly the same ones used by airline passengers.

I'm not really sure why this would be controversial. If people own guns, and they're traveling by train, they should be allowed to pack them in their checked baggage as long as they follow the necessary safety precautions. I'm almost surprised that it's just happening now. Unlike, say, Congress circumventing home rule in D.C. by passing gun laws District residents don't want, this seems pretty reasonable.

-- A. Serwer