Every time I hear about states rights I think of Gomer Pyle when he said "citizens arrest. citizens arrest." I don't know why, it just is. Maybe because when people holler states rights it is over ridiculous issues, the same as when Gomer was hollering citizens arrest.

Anyhoo... Steven Strauss, a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors, and a lecturer and visiting professor at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, has proposed the General Reciprocity Act to replace the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 recently passed by the House of Representatives.

Instead of just being allowed to carry a concealed gun in all states if you can do it in your home state, he proposes the GRA to specify that whatever U.S. state you visit, only the laws of your home state apply to you. Thus, you can go the speed limits of your home state, you can use pot for recreational use anywhere if it is legal in your home state, you can startup a brothel anywhere if it is legal in your home state, etc.

This act will free people from places like Mississippi from having to learn about other states’ laws when they visit those states. And the GOP really has a valid point here. Learning isn’t one of the strengths of the great state of Mississippi (49th in the U.S. for education).

Obviously this is a ridiculous idea. But, hey, we're just trying to even things out. As Mr. Strauss says, "Since the people of Mississippi kill each other at a much higher rate than New Yorkers do, why is it a good idea to let them walk around New York with concealed weapons? But, asking that question just shows what a bigoted member of the coastal elite you are - unfairly stereotyping the people from high murder rate states like Mississippi!"

It is early and I'm quite frustrated with our Senators and Representatives. What are they thinking up there in Washington?