Rep. Dan Lungren was correct to split from fellow Republicans and vote against ill-considered legislation that would require all states to recognize concealed weapons permits issued by other states.

Now, the 16 members of the California congressional delegation who have signed on as co-sponsors of this bill ought to come to their senses and reject this measure.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said this week she opposes the bill. Gov. Jerry Brown should add his voice by making clear that California's right to govern its own affairs is at stake.

The legislation, HR 822, is being carried by Florida Republican Cliff Stearns. Lungren was the lone Republican who voted against it in the House Judiciary Committee this week; the measure passed easily on an otherwise party-line vote.

The bill, dubbed the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, has been embraced by 240 co-sponsors, making its passage in the House all but certain.

Central Valley representatives who have made the wrong-headed decision to embrace the measure include Democrat Dennis Cardoza of Merced and Republicans Wally Herger of the Chico area, Tom McClintock of Elk Grove, Jeff Denham of Atwater, Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Devin Nunes, who represents Tulare and Fresno counties.

The Stearns bill is one of the National Rifle Association's top priorities. Given the NRA's clout, some politicians oppose the bill at their peril. But the California Police Chiefs Association calls HR 822 dangerous. The measure raises fundamental federalism issues.

"I believe in the Second Amendment. I also believe in the 10th Amendment," Lungren, a former California attorney general, said after casting his no vote.

In Lungren's view, California's law governing concealed weapons may be too restrictive. But he also said: "That is part of the reality of dealing with what some people call federation and others call states' rights." States have rights.

Utah, Florida, Arizona and many other states have adopted lax laws allowing people to obtain concealed weapons permits too readily. Utah and Florida don't even require that recipients be residents of those states.

We think they're wrong. We also understand that we don't get a say in how they manage their affairs.

Similarly, Congress should butt out of how California decides who should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon. California politicians ought to stand up for their state and follow Lungren's lead by rejecting Stearns' legislation.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.