Concealed guns legislation advances
Behind-closed-doors talks boost chances for statewide permit system, some say
By Michele Ames, News Staff Writer
March 20, 2002
Quiet negotiations between legislative leaders produced the best chance in years of getting a statewide concealed weapons permitting system for Colorado.
The issue has ignited debate for the past four sessions as lawmakers opted not to abandon Colorado's patchwork of laws that allowed some sheriffs to issue hundreds of permits and others to deny almost all requests.
Negotiations are still behind closed doors, and the bill Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, expects to introduce later this week or next isn't a done deal.
"The extreme right and the extreme left are opposed to this bill," White said. "When you have (that situation), it's got to be the right thing to do."
The proposal has the support of House Speaker Doug Dean, R-Colorado Springs, who carried concealed weapons legislation that nearly passed during the 1999 session. That proposal was pulled off the table with all the other gun-related legislation after the Columbine shootings.
Senate President Stan Matsunaka, D-Loveland, is also buying into the new effort and promises he won't send a "common sense" proposal to its death in committee. The Senate already has killed a concealed weapons permit bill this session.
"We have to keep those issues out of it that will polarize it," Matsunaka said. "What we need to do is get good, responsible legislation done and put this to bed."
The proposal being drafted sets up a system in which county sheriffs must issue the permits to anyone 21 or older after they perform a background check and see proof the individual has taken some sort of gun safety training.
It also requires that individuals applying for the permits do so in the county where they live. Some sheriffs have been issuing hundreds of permits to people who live in other counties.
But in one of the major changes to past legislation, the proposal allows sheriffs to refuse a permit if they have documentable proof that the applicant is unstable and should be turned down even though a background check didn't produce a criminal record.
The term comes from the example of police being called to a residence for a person running around naked in the street. Police leave the individual with their family and file a report, but nothing is adjudicated.
People who are denied a permit would be allowed to appeal.
Advocates of a statewide system have long argued that the current situation is unfair.
"We couldn't get this change done with a Republican Senate. It would be incredible if we could do it with a Democratic Senate," Dean said. "The Senate President mentioned to me that we may be able to find some compromise. If they're serious about that, it's a profound shift."
Legislators still are haggling over who will carry the bill in the Senate. White said he intends to stick with his selected sponsor, Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville. Chlouber's annual attempt earlier this session to pass his concealed weapons proposal failed.
Matsunaka said he would rather see a plan that has bipartisan support, which means a Democratic Senate sponsor. Many believe Matsunaka is holding out to carry the bill himself because he is running in a conservative 4th Congressional District race.
"I've had some people suggest to me it would help me politically. That's not my motivation," Matsunaka said. "My motivation, if I do it, is to see if we can't put this issue to rest."
