The latest from Dudley Brown, Director, RMGO
From : Dudley Brown <
[email protected]>
Reply-To : <
[email protected]>
Sent : Saturday, February 7, 2004 2:21 PM
Subject : Pass a Vermont law in Colorado: Call State Rep. Bill Sinclair today!
Friends of the Second Amendment,
This Tuesday, the House State Affairs Committee will hear HB1281, State
Rep. Greg Brophy's "Colorado Freedom to Carry Act." It's a
Vermont/Alaska concealed carry bill, and it is by FAR the most pro-gun
bill ever offered in Colorado.
Before Tuesday, we need everyone -- repeat, EVERYONE -- who cares
about our right to keep and bear arms to call a key member of the
committee.
State Rep. Bill Sinclair
http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/house/members/hou16.htm is the chairman
of the State Affairs committee, and THE key vote to getting this bill to the House floor.
Representative Sinclair isn't running for his seat again, but he has
pledged -- in GOA's 2002 Candidate Survey -- to support a Vermont
concealed carry bill.
You see, Gun Owners of America and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners put out
candidate surveys every two years. We ask tough questions, not
softballs (asking politicians if they "Support the Second Amendment" is
the definition of a softball -- only the most rabid anti-gunners are
going to answer it negatively), and we keep those records on file
forever. One of the questions we always ask candidates is whether they
will support a Vermont law, allowing law-abiding citizens to carry
concealed without a permit.
Often, politicians need to be reminded that they've made a promise.
And, from what we gather, Rep. Sinclair is very likely to vote for this
good bill. Since he is the key vote, however, we do not think it wise
to leave it up to chance.
What you can do? Call Rep. Sinclair toll-free at 800-811-7647 (or
directly at 303-866-2965) and POLITELY urge him to live up to his pledge
and support House Bill 1281. You can only call the toll-free number
during work hours (a live operator transfers you to Sinclair's office),
but you can call the direct line and leave a voice mail at any time.
We want Rep. Sinclair to know that gun owners want real freedom, without
the burden and expense of a permit system. This bill is NOT being
supported by the institutional gun lobbies (who are usually AWOL when
strong pro-gun bills aren't watered down to include mild forms of gun
control), and so we can't expect them to help pass this legislation.
It's up to us!
You can also e-mail Rep. Sinclair at:
[email protected]
But please also make the phone call. Many legislators are so inundated
with e-mails that they ignore e-mails (how many people do you know who
send a daily e-mail that is cc'ed to every member of the legislature,
the Governor, the President, and Rush Limbaugh? I know DOZENS), or get
to them when they have little else to do. We can't expect that Rep.
Sinclair will get his messages before Tuesday's committee hearing.
If you're not sure about whether you want to pass this bill, please read
the following fact sheet.
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House Bill 1281
The Colorado Freedom to Carry Act
Overview: While Colorado has recently passed a new law requiring
sheriffs to issue concealed handgun permits under certain conditions,
another state has taken a bolder approach to freedom. The Alaska
legislature passed, and their Governor signed, a law that keeps its
concealed handgun permit process in place but allows law-abiding
citizens to carry concealed without any hurdles.
As expected, the permitting process is extremely expensive. Virtually
every sheriff in Colorado charges the maximum $100 fee, plus $30.50 for
the CBI NICS check and statewide fingerprint check (some counties charge
more). Permit applicants must also pay for specific handgun training,
which ranges from $500 to $75, with the average being around $125. This
doesn't even consider the cost of the handgun itself and the holster to
hold it. All of this expense is merely to practice your rights to self
defense.
Why Colorado should pass this bill: Colorado citizens are as
trustworthy as Vermont's and Alaska's citizens. In Vermont, where their
"no permit" policy (actually, Vermont simply has the absence of a law
prohibiting the carrying of concealed handguns), the data is clear: at
the very least, it is not abused by the citizens, and it is arguable
that it makes Vermont a safer state.
What about training? The issue is not training versus no training. The
issue is private, voluntary training versus government certification and
control. The constitution recognizes the right to KEEP and BEAR arms.
There is no training required in the 2nd Amendment. Once government
controlled mandatory training is forced upon the right to bear arms, can
government controlled mandatory training for the right to keep arms be
far behind. The two go together.
Some concealed carry advocates buy into the argument of the anti-gunners
by advocating government-mandated training. They argue that if the
government doesn't certify or control your education, learning and
skills development, then what you've done on your own or through your
family doesn't count.
These are the same arguments used to attack home schooling and other
freedoms secured by our Founding Fathers in both state and federal
constitutions. And look at how well the government is teaching reading
in its own schools: illiteracy soars and respect for persons and
property (aka morality) declines.
Training and safety are intensely personal matters that must be based on
moral upbringing as well as individuals needs and circumstances. Given
that training and education is a personal and family matter that should
be left to those institutions rather than turned over to government, how
have private citizens performed? Are citizens incompetent?
Consider this report by nationally syndicated columnist George F. Will,
not considered pro-gun, in Newsweek on November 15, 1993:
"A nationwide study by Don Kates, the constitutional lawyer and
criminologist, found that only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved
an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The 'error
rate' for police, however was 11 percent, more than five times as high."
"Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck, using surveys and
other data, has determined that armed citizens defend their lives and
property over 1 million times a year. In 98 percent of these instances
the citizen merely [displays] the weapon or fires a warning shot. Only
in 2 percent of the cases do citizens actually shoot their assailants."
"In defending themselves with firearms, armed citizens kill 2,000 to
3,000 criminals each year, three times the number killed by police."
The point is all these people have acquired the skill and training to
successfully defend themselves without Big Brother Government breathing
down their necks and certifying their ability. Your right to have a gun
for self-defense should not depend on some government officials opinion
of your ability to handle a gun safely.
Over the last few decades private voluntary firearms training has
drastically reduced firearms accidents almost in half without government
involvement and control.
This bill does nothing to the existing permit system (passed in the 2003
Legislative Session), it's government-mandated training provision, nor
does it affect permit holders, now or in the future.
Summary of House Bill 1281:
. Gives only law-abiding citizens the ability to carry without a
permit
. Gives those citizens the same rights as permit holders in
Colorado
. Does not provide for reciprocity with other states
. Does not affect the 2003 concealed carry law
. Does not affect existing or future permit holders in any way
Is this bill Constitutional?
Article II Section 13 of the Colorado Constitution says "The right of no
person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and
property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned,
shall be called in question; but nothing herein contained shall be
construed to justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons."
Senate Bill 03-24 was a bill that "justified the practice of
carrying concealed weapons", and HB1281 seeks to do the same. If
HB1281 is unconstitutional, so is the existing concealed carry law passed in
the 2003 session. To argue that one statutory change is constitutional
but another is not is logically inconsistent.
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Gun Owners of America has also put together a great sheet on why
Vermont-style Concealed Carry is smarter than a permit system.
http://www.gunowners.org/vtcarry.htm
Dudley Brown
Executive Director
Toll-free line 888-874-3006
Direct Office Line 970-842-3006
Mobile Phone 970-380-3006
------------------------------------------
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners
Colorado's Largest Gun Rights Organization
PO Box 3114
Denver, Colorado 80201
Phone & Fax (888) 874-3006
http://www.rmgo.org [email protected]
