CO - Uniform gun law needed

[Steven Mace]

editorial

Uniform gun law needed

Tuesday, January 15, 2002 -

Denver Post has long tried to steer a middle course through the bitter gun-control debate.

We have consistently supported measures to make it harder for criminals to get guns, including the Brady Law itself and closing the "gun show loophole" that allowed private sales of firearms at public gun shows without the background checks required by the Brady Law.

By the same token since 1994 The Post has supported efforts to replace Colorado's current crazy quilt of conflicting standards for permits to carry concealed weapons with a uniform state law on that hot topic.

Now, Gov. Bill Owens has urged state lawmakers to write such uniform concealed-carry legislation. The Post thus renews its support of efforts by state Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville, and Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, to pass such a uniform law, SB 60.

Some jurisdictions in Colorado require little more than a warm body and a hefty fee before issuing a permit to carry concealed weapons. Denver, in contrast, enforces a Draconian no-permit policy that rejects even victims of violent crimes or women being stalked by ex-boyfriends.

Most troubling of all, the crazy-quilt approach has prompted some free-wheeling authorities to issue concealed carry permits to citizens who actually live in jurisdictions such as Denver that automatically deny virtually all applications.

As Owens noted in his State of the State speech Thursday, this jurisdictional maze produces unacceptable anomalies such as "the police chief from rural Colorado who regularly travels to Denver to dispense right-to-carry permits to law-abiding citizens." In contrast, a uniform concealed-carry law could - and should - require holders of concealed-carry permits to live in the jurisdiction that issues their permit.

As proposed by Chlouber and White, a uniform policy should require applicants to pass three tests:

They must be law-abiding, with no felony convictions and no restraining orders in force against them.

Applicants must pass a stringent gun safety course, demonstrating familiarity with both firearms and the laws restricting their use.

They must pay $100 for the permit, which must be renewed every five years.

While supporting Chlouber's approach, The Post again condemns irresponsible measures introduced in the past to make the "any-warm-body-can-pack-heat" approach a statewide mandate.

Responsible gun-owners' groups such as the National Rifle Association support the gun safety and background check provisions of Chlouber's legislation. Would-be gun-permit holders need to clearly understand the constraints that Colorado places on the use of deadly force.

Passage of an NRA-approved gun safety course or an equally stringent course from a law enforcement agency should be the absolute minimum requirement for any gun permit issued in Colorado.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,417%257E335398,00.html

Steve Mace

[Steven Mace]

Chlouber gun bill draws fire

Opponents say new law would force the police to issue firearm permits

By John Sanko, News Capitol Bureau

Gun-control groups are drawing a bead on Gov. Bill Owens' call for a statewide standard for issuing concealed weapons permits, saying it will put more firearms in the wrong hands.

Currently a police chief or sheriff can set his or her own criteria for issuing the permits. Some do so freely. In other jurisdictions, it's almost impossible to get a permit.

Owens in his State of the State message to lawmakers last week urged them to pass statewide standards. Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville, said his SB 60 will do just that.

Chlouber's bill sets age, residency and training requirements for people getting permits and bars anyone with a criminal backgrounds from being issued one.

Another bill, HB 1147, by Rep. Mark Cloer, R-Colorado Springs, would keep secret the names of permit holders.

SAFE Colorado, Colorado Ceasefire, the Million Mom March, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Physicians for Social Responsibility came out against Chlouber's bill Wednesday.

The groups say the bill would force sheriffs and police to issue the permits.

"If this law is passed, a 7-11 clerk would have more discretion when selling cigarettes than a sheriff would have when issuing a concealed handgun permit," said John Head, co-president of SAFE Colorado.

Owens is standing by his argument that Colorado needs a statewide law and Chlouber insists his bill protects rather than endangers people.

"The fact is right now in Colorado, we have a haphazard patchwork of conflicting regulations that even allow authorities to issue permits for people living outside their own jurisdictions," said Owens' spokesman Dan Hopkins. "Bringing some sense and consistency to this maze of regulations is long overdue."

Head doesn't disagree that there are currently abuses, including last year's decision by the town of Stratton to issue permits to people throughout the state.

"But what they want to cure the existing problem with is a bill that would require police chiefs or sheriffs to issue permits -- that's what the gun lobby wants and they dress it with standards," Head said.

Chlouber said he'd love to sit down and talk with the critics, a meeting that Head said he'd certainly agree to before the bill is heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee. No hearing date has been set.

"Today's law allows guns in kindergarten," Chlouber said. "The proposal that I'm making for standards across the state prevents that."

Specifically the bill declares a permit holder is not authorized to carry a handgun into any place where it is barred by federal law or on school grounds, unless it is in a locked compartment within his or her vehicle. Private property owners also can bar them.

"Today's law says any sheriff or chief of police may issue a permit to carry weapons concealed. That's today's law, period. They can issue those permits to anybody anywhere anytime at no charge with no investigation and no restrictions," Chlouber said.

"A sheriff can walk outside his office, sit on the courthouse steps and start handing them out like popcorn."

January 17, 2002

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/article/0,1299,DRMN_37_943596,00.html

Steve Mace

[Steven Mace]

Gun debate heats up again

Sept. 11 fallout inspires lawmaker to propose uniform standards for hidden-weapons permits

By John Sanko, News Capitol Bureau

The Columbine tragedy curbed the legislature's appetite for the concealed weapons debate, but the issue could be back on the front burner this year partly because of Sept. 11.

Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville, is sponsoring a bill that would force sheriffs and police chiefs to issue concealed-weapons permits -- as long as the applicants met age, residency and training requirements and didn't have a criminal record.

Under a bill by Rep. Mark Cloer, R-Colorado Springs, the entire list of permit holders wouldn't be released, but individuals could find out if a specific person has a permit.

"If someone wanted to find out if their legislator had a permit, they could do so," Cloer said, giving an example.

Among those urging legislators to pass a conceal carry law this year is Gov. Bill Owens, who said Colorado desperately needs a statewide permit system.

Currently, police chiefs and sheriffs issue permits based on their own criteria. Some hand out very few permits; others are much more lenient with permits and standards.

In his State of the State speech, Owens noted that the Sept. 11 terrorist attack had increased the number of law-abiding citizens who want to buy firearms for self-defense.

Although Columbine has been back in the news lately because of the dispute over who killed 15-year-old Daniel Rohrbough, for some at the state house, the tragedy is no longer much of an issue.

Political pollster Floyd Ciruli said the "effect of Columbine" on some legislators has worn off.

"The other thing working slightly in favor of gun rights at this point is Sept. 11," Ciruli said. "There has been a higher level of concern about personal safety among people."

However, Ciruli said he'd be surprised if voters would support a loosening of gun laws. And with Democrats holding an 18-17 advantage in the Senate, he questioned whether any gun-rights bill will be approved.

Several groups, including SAFE Colorado, already are gearing up to fight Chlouber's proposal, which they warn will put more guns on the streets.

Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hear the bill, admits he doesn't like it. He has not yet scheduled a hearing.

Allowing police chiefs and sheriffs to make their own rules about who can carry a concealed weapon, "isn't the best," Gordon said. But the Chlouber bill "doesn't offer any discretion for police chiefs and sheriffs. I'm not prepared to do away with local control."

The situation in a large city like Denver is far different than it would be in Leadville or some smaller community, he said.

Chlouber said he knows the attitude that stemmed from the horrors of Columbine has "softened a little bit," but he thinks the bigger change stems from the attacks on New York and Washington.

"Columbine is something we'll never forget and we shouldn't forget it," Chlouber said. "But people are thinking more about personal protection, and I think Sept. 11 has had a tremendous amount to do with it.

"And what we're doing today with permits is wrong. We need a statewide standard so all Coloradans can be treated the same."

Owens has not specifically endorsed the Chlouber bill, but he does want a uniform standard to "eliminate the haphazard system we have now," said his spokesman, Dan Hopkins.

January 21, 2002

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/article/0,1299,DRMN_37_948069,00.html

Steve Mace