A group dedicated to reducing gun violence jeered Sen. Kay Hagan for her vote for an amendment that would have required states to recognize other states' concealed carry permits.

The Thune Amendment to the 2010 defense authorization bill, by Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, would have required states to recognize concealed weapons permits issued in other states. Individual states have varying laws on who can carry concealed weapons. Republican Sen. Richard Burr, an avid hunter, was a co-sponsor of the amendment.

It was Hagan, a Democrat, who took the brunt of the jeers from North Carolinians Against Gun Violence.

"What happened to states' rights?" said Sue Baker, board of directors president of the group. "North Carolina citizens trust that laws passed by our state legislature protect the public and keep us safe. The Thune Amendment would have made our North Carolina conceal carry laws obsolete."

The amendment failed.

The group noted that Hagan, as a state senator, voted for a bill that established guidelines for North Carolina to recognize other states' permits. The law stated that any state that recognized North Carolina's permits would have its permits recognized here.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan voted in favor of an amendment to require states to recognize concealed weapons permits issued in other states.

But the amendment, offered by Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, failed to get the 60-vote majority required under Senate rules. The amendment failed to pass on a 58-39 vote, reports Barb Barrett.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, also voted in favor of the amendment.

Hagan had told reporters this morning that she didn't know how she was going to vote on the amendment.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan declined to tell reporters this morning how she plans to vote on a concealed weapon amendment scheduled for a vote in less than 30 minutes in the Senate.

"We’re still looking at it,” she told reporters today in her weekly conference call, reports Barb Barrett. “That’s something we’re going to be working on as soon as I hang up this phone.”

The Thune Amendment, by Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, would require states to recognize concealed weapons permits issued in other states. Individual states have varying laws on who can carry concealed weapons.

Te amendment would be added to the 2010 defense authorization bill.

More after the jump.

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Today's retirement announcement by Republican stalwart Sen. Trent Lott has gotten Sen. Richard Burr to thinking: Should he join the GOP's Senate leadership team?

If the dominoes fall correctly, Burr could get the chance, Barb Barrett reports.

Burr, a freshman senator, will seek the chairmanship of the policy-oriented Republican conference if the job becomes open. It is the No. 3 position in the GOP hierarchy.

The current conference leader, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, may seek Lott's current position as minority whip.

Lott, of Mississippi, said today he will retire from the Senate by the end of the year—a move that, by inside-the-Beltway standards, shakes things up a bit in the Republican ranks.

More after the jump.

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