In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
CO:Uniform gun law needed
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
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%7E335398,00.html