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Last night on the news (in Colorado Springs CO.) KKTV 11 had a blurb about 7 Cities Law Enforcement supporting the AWB?
Denver I can imagine... But ColoSpgs?
Anyway - I went to the web sites of CSPD and El Paso CO. Sheriff - no press release.. Cna't find the endorsement of the AWB by ColoSpgs Law Enforcement....Anyone?
I did find these though..
Story
State's gun-show law hailed
Group: Fewer firearms from Colo. used in crime
By David Olinger
Colorado exported fewer guns used to commit crimes after enacting a law requiring background checks on all gun- show sales, according to a group campaigning for a similar national law.
In a report released today, Americans for Gun Safety also concluded that the top 15 "crime gun export" states permit people to acquire firearms without criminal background checks at gun shows.
The group timed its report to coincide with upcoming votes in Congress on firearms laws.
Its conclusions were based on 36,828 federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms criminal traces of guns purchased in one state but used for criminal purposes in another.
According to Deborah Barron, a spokeswoman for Americans for Gun Safety, Colorado's per-capita ranking as a crime-gun exporter dropped from 17th to 27th in the year after it began requiring background checks on all gun- show sales.
"Colorado is proof that closing the gun-show loophole results in fewer crime guns being tracked across state lines," Barron said. "Colorado is now exporting fewer crime guns."
The report does not identify how many of the guns that were later used in crimes had been sold at gun shows. The study's authors say no one can know that because purchases from private gun-show vendors may not be recorded anywhere.
Americans for Gun Safety relied instead on federal records tracking guns across state lines as an indicator of gun trafficking. On a per-capita basis, its study ranked Mississippi as the leading exporter of guns used for crimes in 2001, followed by Kansas, Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia.
Jim Kessler, the group's policy director, said the top 15 export states were all classified as "loophole- open" because they do not require a background check, a state permit or a state license to complete a gun-show purchase from a private vendor.
Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, called the study fundamentally flawed and its conclusions worthless because it fails to demonstrate how many of the traced guns were sold at gun shows.
"There is no indication that traced guns had any relationship to gun shows," he said. "They're not really showing what the origins of these guns are," so "you have to question the study as a whole."
The merits of gun-show regulation are likely to be debated during the next week in Congress, which is considering legislation to protect gun manufacturers and retailers from some lawsuits.
Americans for Gun Safety expects Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to offer an amendment to require background checks on all gun-show sales nationally.
In Colorado, the 1999 Columbine High School massacre ignited statewide debate over the so-called "gun-show loophole." With the help of a friend, high school seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold acquired three of the four guns used in the killings from private gun- show vendors. The fourth was purchased at a gun show, then resold to the killers.
Federally licensed firearms dealers are required to ask for criminal background checks on all customers, including those at gun shows. In 2000, Colorado passed a referendum requiring background checks on gun-show sales from private vendors as well.
Susan Kitchen, who runs the background check program for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said the law keeps her staff busy on gun-show weekends but has not shut down the shows.
"We have at least as many gun shows as we did before," she said.
And..
Story
Article Published: Tuesday, February 24, 2004
House kills bid to drop concealed-weapons list
By Julia C. Martinez
Denver Post Capitol Bureau
After heated debate in the House on Monday, moderate Republicans joined Democrats to kill a concealed-weapons-database measure that they feared could put law enforcement and the public at risk.
House Bill 1205, sponsored by Rep. Bill Crane, R-Arvada, and 12 of his conservative colleagues, would have eliminated the statewide database of concealed weapons permits. The vote against the bill was 36-29.
Authorities use the database when making routine traffic stops and in other situations where a person having a gun might pose a risk to authorities or the public. They also can cross-reference the database against lists of people who are considered potentially dangerous.
The County Sheriffs of Colorado and chiefs of police opposed the measure, which would have overturned a provision of last year's concealed-weapons-permit law. Rather than revoke all existing permits last year, it was agreed that the database would be created to keep track of all permit holders until 2007.
"It's an officer-safety issue," Denver police Detective John White said. "If an officer makes a high-risk traffic stop, he knows what he's up against."
In January 2003, the Larimer County sheriff revoked the concealed-weapons permit of Jason Peder Clausen during a robbery investigation. Clausen did not fit the robbery suspect's description but acted suspiciously and was evasive when answering questions.
Clausen was later accused of using police lights and part of his cache of guns to pull over Lacy Miller in a fake traffic stop, and of beating the University of Northern Colorado student to death. Clausen pleaded guilty to murder and is serving life in prison.
Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, said that without the database, sheriff's officers would not have known Clausen had a permit to carry a hidden handgun. "His gun permit wouldn't have been revoked," White said.
But Rep. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, called the database "overreaching government."
Harvey and other bill supporters said citizens whose names are on the database are viewed as dangerous.
"I disagree that law-abiding citizens ... should be put in a database run by the government," Harvey said.
So - If anyone can come up with proof that Colorado Law Enforcement supports the AWB.. I'd like to see it..
Denver I can imagine... But ColoSpgs?
KKTV Story
Anyway - I went to the web sites of CSPD and El Paso CO. Sheriff - no press release.. Cna't find the endorsement of the AWB by ColoSpgs Law Enforcement....Anyone?
I did find these though..
Story
State's gun-show law hailed
Group: Fewer firearms from Colo. used in crime
By David Olinger
Colorado exported fewer guns used to commit crimes after enacting a law requiring background checks on all gun- show sales, according to a group campaigning for a similar national law.
In a report released today, Americans for Gun Safety also concluded that the top 15 "crime gun export" states permit people to acquire firearms without criminal background checks at gun shows.
The group timed its report to coincide with upcoming votes in Congress on firearms laws.
Its conclusions were based on 36,828 federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms criminal traces of guns purchased in one state but used for criminal purposes in another.
According to Deborah Barron, a spokeswoman for Americans for Gun Safety, Colorado's per-capita ranking as a crime-gun exporter dropped from 17th to 27th in the year after it began requiring background checks on all gun- show sales.
"Colorado is proof that closing the gun-show loophole results in fewer crime guns being tracked across state lines," Barron said. "Colorado is now exporting fewer crime guns."
The report does not identify how many of the guns that were later used in crimes had been sold at gun shows. The study's authors say no one can know that because purchases from private gun-show vendors may not be recorded anywhere.
Americans for Gun Safety relied instead on federal records tracking guns across state lines as an indicator of gun trafficking. On a per-capita basis, its study ranked Mississippi as the leading exporter of guns used for crimes in 2001, followed by Kansas, Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia.
Jim Kessler, the group's policy director, said the top 15 export states were all classified as "loophole- open" because they do not require a background check, a state permit or a state license to complete a gun-show purchase from a private vendor.
Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, called the study fundamentally flawed and its conclusions worthless because it fails to demonstrate how many of the traced guns were sold at gun shows.
"There is no indication that traced guns had any relationship to gun shows," he said. "They're not really showing what the origins of these guns are," so "you have to question the study as a whole."
The merits of gun-show regulation are likely to be debated during the next week in Congress, which is considering legislation to protect gun manufacturers and retailers from some lawsuits.
Americans for Gun Safety expects Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to offer an amendment to require background checks on all gun-show sales nationally.
In Colorado, the 1999 Columbine High School massacre ignited statewide debate over the so-called "gun-show loophole." With the help of a friend, high school seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold acquired three of the four guns used in the killings from private gun- show vendors. The fourth was purchased at a gun show, then resold to the killers.
Federally licensed firearms dealers are required to ask for criminal background checks on all customers, including those at gun shows. In 2000, Colorado passed a referendum requiring background checks on gun-show sales from private vendors as well.
Susan Kitchen, who runs the background check program for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said the law keeps her staff busy on gun-show weekends but has not shut down the shows.
"We have at least as many gun shows as we did before," she said.
And..
Story
Article Published: Tuesday, February 24, 2004
House kills bid to drop concealed-weapons list
By Julia C. Martinez
Denver Post Capitol Bureau
After heated debate in the House on Monday, moderate Republicans joined Democrats to kill a concealed-weapons-database measure that they feared could put law enforcement and the public at risk.
House Bill 1205, sponsored by Rep. Bill Crane, R-Arvada, and 12 of his conservative colleagues, would have eliminated the statewide database of concealed weapons permits. The vote against the bill was 36-29.
Authorities use the database when making routine traffic stops and in other situations where a person having a gun might pose a risk to authorities or the public. They also can cross-reference the database against lists of people who are considered potentially dangerous.
The County Sheriffs of Colorado and chiefs of police opposed the measure, which would have overturned a provision of last year's concealed-weapons-permit law. Rather than revoke all existing permits last year, it was agreed that the database would be created to keep track of all permit holders until 2007.
"It's an officer-safety issue," Denver police Detective John White said. "If an officer makes a high-risk traffic stop, he knows what he's up against."
In January 2003, the Larimer County sheriff revoked the concealed-weapons permit of Jason Peder Clausen during a robbery investigation. Clausen did not fit the robbery suspect's description but acted suspiciously and was evasive when answering questions.
Clausen was later accused of using police lights and part of his cache of guns to pull over Lacy Miller in a fake traffic stop, and of beating the University of Northern Colorado student to death. Clausen pleaded guilty to murder and is serving life in prison.
Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, said that without the database, sheriff's officers would not have known Clausen had a permit to carry a hidden handgun. "His gun permit wouldn't have been revoked," White said.
But Rep. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, called the database "overreaching government."
Harvey and other bill supporters said citizens whose names are on the database are viewed as dangerous.
"I disagree that law-abiding citizens ... should be put in a database run by the government," Harvey said.
So - If anyone can come up with proof that Colorado Law Enforcement supports the AWB.. I'd like to see it..
