cuchulainn
Member
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E61%7E1108523,00.html
Sweeping gun law clears hurdle
Bill to override local measures decried by Dems, Denver cops
By Julia C. Martinez
Denver Post Capitol Bureau
Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - A controversial proposal that seeks to override gun laws in Denver, Englewood and other cities passed a Senate panel Monday in what could be the first step to dramatically altering firearms regulations in Colorado.
Senate Bill 25, opposed by Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, Denver police and advocates of local control, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 4-3 party-line vote, with Democrats voting against it. It now moves to the full Senate.
The measure is similar to a plan that won approval in both Houses in 1999 but died in a conference committee after the shootings at Columbine High prompted lawmakers to table all gun bills that year. Under the new proposal, no local jurisdiction can have gun regulations tougher than state law.
Ritter called the measure an attempt by the state at "one-sizefits-all" regulation that is "just irrational." He said Denver, with a population center of 540,000 and 5,000 felony arrests last year, is vastly different from tiny Jackson County, which had five felony arrests in the same period.
Sen. Sue Windels of Arvada, one of the three Democrats on the committee, said the measure is bad for Colorado.
"It would weaken existing gun-control laws and allows guns to be carried into courtrooms, day-care centers, banks and bars," Windels said.
The bill's sponsor, GOP Sen. Jim Dyer of Littleton, said the measure is an attempt to do away with the patchwork of gun laws that cause confusion from one county to the next and result in people who legally carry handguns being arrested for unknowingly violating laws. "To have conflicts in state law creates confusion," Dyer said. "We need to have uniform firearms rules that apply to everyone."
Tom Mauser, father of slain Columbine student Daniel Mauser, was among nine witnesses who appealed to legislators to oppose the bill.
Mauser noted that he had not spoken out against guns for some months and that he expected to get hate mail again. "But I thought this bill was onerous enough that I had to speak out," Mauser said.
Sam Mamet, speaking on behalf of the Colorado Municipal League, told the committee that the measure would end up being challenged in court if it is passed. He urged the committee to respect the rights of cities to fashion their own laws.
"Keep local control local and home rule at home," he said. "Don't do to us what you rail against when Congress does it to the states."
Johnstown Mayor Troy Mellon and safety services director Chris Olson also testified against the measure.
Representatives of the National Rifle Association did not testify, but in a statement to the committee, NRA spokeswoman Mary Anne Bradfield said the bill, if passed, would put Colorado in the mainstream of states, 42 in all, that have passed firearms pre-emption laws. The statement also said that letting cities and towns regulate the purchase, possession and carrying of firearms creates a "crazy quilt" that people can't keep track of "without a law book in his or her back pocket."
The measure was among several expected to be introduced this session. Two others propose to create uniform standards across the state for obtaining permits to carry concealed handguns.
All contents Copyright 2003 The Denver Post
