Colorado Constitutional Carry passes House Judiciary Committee

[jimpeel]

Good news; but the chances of that good news lasting are pretty slim.

Usually any firearms bill going into the judiciary committee dies there. This is an unusual outcome here. Getting this through the house, however, is going to be a gargantuan task.

This from Dudley Brown of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO).

There is no copyright issue so I will post the entire notice.

House Judiciary Committee passes Constitutional Carry 8 to 3

Nice work. Constitutional Carry -- HB1205 -- passed out of its committee yesterday and moved to the House Floor thanks to your calls and e-mails.

State Rep. Chris Holbert (R-Parker) -- who is a long-time RMGO member and activist -- did a fantastic job of presenting the bill and framing the debate when presenting it to the House Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Holbert told the committee that open carry in public areas is legal in most parts of Colorado and requires no permit, no fees, no training and no lists, but the second you cover the handgun with a coat or sweater you are required to obtain a permit.

In essence, he said, it's a Coat Tax. Put your coat on, and you have to pay the tax. His bill would make that a voluntary tax, since there would be no need to pay the tax (acquire a permit) if HB1205 becomes law.

RMGO Executive Director Dudley Brown then testified to the growing movement of states allowing permitless carry, and the many more which are considering passing just such a law. In Vermont, Alaska and now Arizona, there has been no increase in crime.

Both of those messages resonated with members of the committee, and the bill passed with the votes of every Republican and even two Democrats.

This is just one more great example of how effective your voice really is.

Now the work gets tougher. The bill is headed for the House floor, where we really have to turn up the heat. If you and I want Constitutional Carry in Colorado, we must make politicians feel the heat with our phone calls and e-mails.

The House Co-sponsors on HB1205 are:

Acree, Balmer, Barker, Baumgardner, Becker, Bradford, Brown, Conti, DelGrosso, Holbert, Joshi, Kerr J., Looper, Massey, McKinley, McNulty, Murray, Nikkel, Priola, Scott, Sonnenberg, Stephens, Summers, Swerdfeger, Vaad, Waller.

In addition, Reps. Bob Gardner, Daniel Kagan and Pete Lee have now voted for this bill in Committee.

If you don't see your State Representative on either of these lists, they have not yet co-sponsored this bill or voted in favor of it yet. It is imperative that you take just a few minutes to do this simple two-step process before the House floor vote.

If they are on this list, take a moment to contact them and tell them to keep up the good work and continue to support this important bill.

... (Phone numbers and assistance plea deleted)

Constitutional Carry in Colorado depends on your involvement.

Please join us in the push to get this bill past the House.

[Standing Wolf]

In essence, he said, it's a Coat Tax. Put your coat on, and you have to pay the tax.

Hadn't thought of it that way. Interesting!

[jimpeel]

It was definitely a novel approach to illustrating the problem.

There was a guy who illustrated the problem with trigger locks by putting one on a fire extinguisher. He would hand the extinguisher to a trigger lock proponent. He would then touch off a prepared trash can which contained a rag soaked in a flammable liquid and tell the guy to hurry up and put it out. He would then turn out the lights to make the demonstration complete.

[FTG-05]

That is an excellent way of putting it - as is the fire extinguisher example.

Let's hope this passes!

Thanks,

[maestro pistolero]

Exactly. I have used the analogy as well. I've heard people say that carrying a gun attracts negative circumstances and events that otherwise might not occur.

I ask them does having a fire extinguisher make you more likely to have a house fire?

Would you hope for your house to catch fire so you may use the fire extinguisher?

[FTG-05]

Does a spare tire cause flats?

Having a first aid kit cause cuts and bruises?

Diapers on a baby cause poop? Well, ok, maybe we're taking it too far....

[jimpeel]

Received this from Dudley Brown, President, RMGO today:

There is no copyright issue so I will post the entire notice.

All emphasis added by me.

Colorado State House passes Constitutional Carry 40 to 25

We aren’t done, but I’ve got some good news for you.

The first phase of passing Constitutional Carry through the Colorado State House was accomplished this morning. House members agreed to move this common-sense legislation forward by a vote of 40 to 25 (we'll post this vote when it becomes available on our website http://www.rmgo.org ).

Even though we’re definitely not done yet (and I know that I don’t have to tell you that anything can happen in politics) this is still great news.

Because of your emails and phone calls, these House members have moved our bill through the house with an overwhelming majority.

A special thanks to the able leadership of long-time RMGO member State Rep. Chris Holbert who now passes the baton to State Senator Greg Brophy.

Our next step is the assignment of the bill to a Colorado State Senate Committee.

Naturally, I’ll keep you up to date on Colorado's Constitutional Carry Bill moves along, but I wanted to keep you informed as we get closer to final passage.

[heitz]

hope it goes all the way but I still will have a CCW issued so I can carry in other states.

[Edward429451]

Yay! This will help us proponants of open carry (who didn't send them thier coat tax) be legal for the walk from the car to the house, and not just practicing common sense by hiding it from the fearful community...

[jimpeel]

As I predicted in the thread header the bill was killed in committee.

This from the NRA. I am reprinting the entire e-mail alert as received. No copyright problems with that.

Colorado’s “Permitless Carry” Bill Defeated in Senate Committee

Yesterday, House Bill 1205 was defeated in the Senate State, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee by a partisan 3 to 2 vote. House Bill 1205, introduced by state Representative Chris Holbert (R-44), would have allowed residents to carry a concealed handgun without a permit as long as they were legally eligible to purchase and possess a firearm. This bill passed in the Colorado House by a 20 to 15 vote on March 2.

Despite NRA support for this bill, the Democratic leadership in the Colorado Senate has consistently assigned pro-gun bills to the Senate State , Military & Veterans Affairs Committee. Their designated “kill committee” has predictably defeated pro-Second Amendment bills by partisan 3 to 2 votes during the last several years. In addition, Colorado Governor and former Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) was a member of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns” and he would have almost certainly vetoed such legislation.

Despite this, the NRA will continue to urge lawmakers and the Governor to support this pro-gun legislation in Colorado. The NRA strongly supports the constitutional right of Coloradans to carry for self-defense. Please contact the following members of the Senate State , Military & Veterans Affairs Committee and respectfully express your disappointment that they did not pass HB 1205. Contact information for these committee members can be found below.

Senator Rollie Heath (D-18), Chairman
303-866-4872
[email protected]

Senator Bob Bacon (D-14), Vice Chairman
303-866-4841
[email protected]

Senator Betty Boyd (D-21)
303-866-4857
[email protected]

This alert is posted at: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=6471.

[FTG-05]

[jimpeel]

This from Dudley Brown, President, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners:

Constitutional Carry Dead in Colorado

Senate Dems kill landmark pro-gun legislation

Though not a surprise, yesterday the Senate State Affairs Committee voted 3-2 to kill HB1205, RMGO's Constitutional Carry bill, which was carried by St. Rep. Chris Holbert and St. Sen. Greg Brophy.

The legislation would have made Colorado a “permit optional” state for concealed carry, joining Vermont, Alaska, Arizona, and Wyoming.

Despite overwhelming testimony that states with similar laws did not, in fact, see an increase in violence, Democrat Senators in the State Affairs Committee (Sens. Rollie Heath, Betty Boyd, and Bob Bacon) voted against the bill while GOP Sens. Kevin Grantham and Bill Cadman voted for the legislation.

Senator Greg Brophy told committee members that HB1205 would simply level the playing field for law-abiding citizen, but criminals really don’t care what the law says – and don’t seek permits in the first place.

RMGO Executive Director Dudley Brown said that domestic violence prevention groups should support Constitutional Carry rather than oppose it, since the permit process itself is intimidating to many females who don’t want to be on lists and don’t normally think of themselves as gun advocates but might need the means to self defense in volatile situations.

“Why should a woman who wants to defend herself from a stalker or violent ex-boyfriend be forced to acquire an expensive permit, just for the permission to protect herself?” said Brown.

Yuma County Sheriff Chad Day, testifying on behalf of himself and Weld County Sheriff John Cooke, said the Second Amendment is a right. “Causing people to jump through government hoops turns that right into a mere privilege.” Sheriff Day cited numerous statistics to show that more citizens carrying concealed is a good thing for public safety.

Of course, Sheriff Day wasn’t the only law enforcement to speak on the bill. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle (My Sheriff -- j) (representing “Republican-In-Name-Only” Arapahoe Sheriff Grayson Robinson and Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr) opposed the bill.

Lobbyist Anne Marie Jensen, who represented the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police but also normally works for Tom Mauser’s “Colorado Ceasefire Capitol Fund”, said “Sen. Brophy believes more guns will make citizens safer. Unfortunately, the Chiefs don’t agree.”

Those advocating for Constitutional Carry should take heart: it took 9 years to pass a “Shall Issue” law in Colorado, and this is a long-term fight. Just remember these votes in the 2012 elections.

RMGO has fought for Constitutional Carry (often called Vermont) since the founding of the group. And as the famous movie line goes, We’ll be back.