cuchulainn
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from the Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~61~1376556,00.html
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~61~1376556,00.html
Reluctant officials must accept gun-permit forms
By Kieran Nicholson, Denver Post Staff Writer
Despite opposing a new state law but forced to comply with it, Denver officials will begin accepting applications for concealed weapons permits later this month.
Denver has battled the mandatory issuance of concealed handgun permits for years, and is now taking on two controversial gun measures, Senate Bills 24 and 25, signed into law in March.
But for now, Denver police will start taking applications on May 19, Mayor Wellington Webb said Wednesday.
Webb said he has directed police "to perform the most rigorous background check on applicants allowed by the new law, and exercise to the fullest extent possible the discretion afforded by the law to deny permits to persons who may be a danger to themselves or others."
Webb fears the new gun laws will make carrying a concealed weapon in Denver, and elsewhere, the norm rather than exception to the rule.
The mayor sharply criticized the legislation, saying "the state has turned the law and common sense on its head."
SB 24 requires county authorities to give gun permits to citizens who are at least 21 years old and pass a criminal background check and handgun training course. It prohibits concealed weapons in elementary and secondary schools. It also gives police chiefs and sheriffs discretion to issue permits to people older than 18 who say they need to carry a gun for self-protection.
SB 25 eliminates local gun laws statewide, while giving local governments the discretion to post signs in buildings or a specific area where guns can't be carried.
Webb said the Colorado Constitution "clearly disfavors" the carrying of concealed weapons. "State-mandated permits allowing handguns to be routinely carried in public will not make for a safer society," he said.
Sen. Jim Dyer, R-Centennial, a co-sponsor of SB 25, said the new law mandates a statewide uniformity for some municipalities that had in effect a "de facto gun ban."
"I think (SB) 25 is a necessary and thoughtful response to some fairly severe and at times out of control local municipal ordinances," Dyer said. "Now we have a uniform and well-understood law on the books that protects law-abiding citizens with the clarity we didn't have before."
Denver officials say that since Denver is a home-rule city, it might leave its local gun regulations on the books and await a constitutional challenge over SB 25. The city also could sue the state.
Denver "will not give up on the fight to preserve its authority to regulate how and where firearms may be carried within the city," Webb said. "I am confident that the courts will look favorably on the city's position, notwithstanding the state's attempt to override our local laws."
Copyright 2003 The Denver Post
