Guns Brought to You Courtesy of Alaska

At one time, when ruled by the British Empire, Americans had their freedoms restricted. With the aid of the Constitution and a vital Bill of Rights, the same civil liberties are no longer so abused. However, more often than not, issues get in the way of carrying out these freedoms to the fullest possible extent; one of these being the right to bear arms. On July 22, the Senate is to voting on an ammendment that would "force states with more restrictive standards to accept concealed carry permits from states with less stringent rules — in effect giving the lax rules national reach."
The editorial, Gun Crazy in the Senate is quite against this proposition. It argues that illegal activities concerning the possesion of firearms will be eased in the bill's passage. Citing the Violence Policy Center, " Between May 2007 and April 2009, people holding concealed handgun permits killed at least seven police officers and 44 private citizens." The central argument of this piece mainly focuses on the issues with this bill, and issues with states' policies, Alaska in particular.
What concerns me, as a reader, is the lack of information on a whole about this bill. Why was it put in place? Who else supports it, and why? From state officials, would it make things easier, or harder? I also would like to have more statistics, because while 'seven police officers and 44 private citizens' may seem like a shocking number, those deaths occured over a period of almost 3 years. That number pales in comparison to 631,636, the number of heart disease related deaths in 2006, according to the CDC. The writer also asserts that, "Other examples of crimes committed by concealed-carry licensees are plentiful." I would like to know where I can find those examples, and how accurate they are, I do not appreciate vague statements when trying to make a decision on whether this new bill is a sound one or not. So with no thanks to the writer, I now know about a new gun law, and don't know whether its worth supporting, or condemning.