NRA legislative expert says gun rights could see 'most monumental' win in Congress since 2005

Congress advanced two bills this week aimed at expanding the rights of law-aiding gun owners. 

One of them, according to a legislative expert from the National Rifle Association, would mark the "most monumental" win for Second Amendment rights in more than 20 years, if signed into law. 

"The right of self-defense shouldn't end simply because you cross the state line," said John Commerford, executive director of the NRA's congressional lobbying arm. "Passage of H.R. 38 - concealed carry reciprocity - would be the most monumental win for gun rights in Congress since 2005, when the Protection of Lawful Commerce and Arms Act was passed."

Under current law, if a lawful gun owner from Pennsylvania were to cross the Delaware River into New Jersey with a concealed weapon, they could face "at least" a three-year mandatory prison sentence, according to Commerford.

"If your name is John Smith and you fill out a NICS check on Black Friday at Cabela's to buy a firearm, you're going to be in for a wait, and sometimes you're going to be in for clerical errors that could restrict that [purchase]," Commerford said. "With a pro-gun House, a pro-gun Senate, and a pro-gun president in the White House, now is the time to put the foot on the gas and try to restore Second Amendment rights of America's gun owners."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.