To me, FOPA is a good example of why not to pursue the federal CCW bill.
For all its good intent, FOPA wiped out any chance I'll ever have of owning a select-fire rifle. However it was slipped in, the fact is, it was slipped in and has been around for 20 years and has a next-to-nothing chance of going away. This is on top of the fact that the 1934 law is also unconstitutional, but has a next-to-nothing chance of going away, too. Add to that the 1968 law and all the other 20,000 laws out there.
If the national reciprocity continues to go through, what might be inserted into that and passed before it is caught? What deals will have to be made? Why do you have to wear a seat belt in every state? Not because the states mandated it, but because the federal government threatened to withold money from them if they didn't comply. Anytime a new federal regulation is involved, the people lose.
The best federal law is no federal law if the states are able to work things out. With CCW, I think this is happening. More states are passing CCW laws and more are accepting other states' CCWs in reciprocity deals. This was one of the reasons why the Constitution was, and should remain, a minimalist document. Good laws would be copied from state to state and bad laws would never go outside of a given state.
I would consider FOPA, except for Rangel's amendment, to be within the framework of the constitution because it does address interstate transportation. However, I also think that all federal and state guns laws should be abolished as unconstitutional, so FOPA shouldn't need to exist. I also feel that driver's licenses are unconstitutional, since cars are the equivalent of the FF's horses and that the people should be secure in their property while traveling. States recognize each other's driver's licenses because it makes good sense to, much as they should recognize each other's CCWs.
There may be some logic errors in there someplace, but the best I can express it is: FOPA is a constitutional response to unconstitutional laws. I don't think that the National Reciprocity Bill meets this concept.