NRA Personal Protection class

Just finished teaching the NRA Personal Protection in the Home class last Saturday as part of a four instructor team. It's a pretty good class and is a good starting point for people who are interested in obtaining their Concealed Carry permit. Forty-nine of the fifty states currently have laws allowing some form of concealed carry of a pistol for self defense (Come on, Illinois ... we're waiting). Topics include firearm safety, marksmanship, explanation of ammunition, use of cover and concealment, plus a lecture from a law enforcement officer or a lawyer on state statutes and use of deadly force and the law. Contact the National Rifle Association for details of classes in your state.

Wyoming Concealed Carry Law Straightened Out

Last year, a legislative glitch occurred in Wyoming when the state's chief legal eagle, Attorney General Bruce Salzburg, was conducting a review of the reciprocity conditions between Wyoming and the other 49 states. The AG discovered language in the state's reciprocity law for carrying a concealed handgun which reduces Wyoming's reciprocity with many states. The fix was to create legislation to change the existing wording.

I was notified today by one of Wyoming's legal experts that the changes to clarify the legislation have been made and the governor has signed them into law. This is good news. Kudos to Wyoming state authorities for fixing the glitch.

Good News for Wyoming Concealed Carry Permit Holders

I just received this from a reliable source. Currently, 48 of the 50 states allow some version of concealed or open carry of a handgun for personal protection. Wyoming is one of those enlightened states. They just need to tweak the wording to their legislation a little bit.

The right to self-defense is surely the most basic of all rights. Nobody would blame a dog for biting the person who kicks it; nobody would blame an animal for attacking the hunter who is trying to shoot it (I'm a hunter, by the way); so why would anybody question a person's right to defend themselves with a firearm when the alternative is injury or death?

But I digress. Here's the good news from the State of Wyoming:

OFFICE OF GOVERNOR DAVE FREUDENTHAL
State Capitol
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Ph. (307) 777-7434

January 15, 2010

******FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE******

Contact: Jonathan Green, Press Secretary
Phone: 307.777.7437
E-mail: jgreen3@state.wy.us

Gov. Freudenthal Backs Legislation to Restore Concealed Carry Reciprocity

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Gov. Dave Freudenthal has announced his support for proposed legislation to restore Wyoming concealed carry reciprocity after the current statutes were found to be ambiguous. Senate File 26 is sponsored by Sen. Cale Case of Lander.

Gov. Freudenthal said, “This is important legislation that ensures that lawful permit holders in and out of Wyoming can carry firearms as originally intended. I am very pleased that Senator Case has proposed legislation which remedies this problem and will take us back to a place where we have reciprocity with a significant number of other states.”

Last year, Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg discovered language in the existing law that would have significantly reduced the number of states to which Wyoming could grant reciprocity. Reciprocity is where two states agree to accept one another’s permits. Freudenthal and Salzburg agreed to postpone implementing a decision reducing the number of states who could legally carry concealed firearms in Wyoming, in order to give lawmakers an opportunity to craft a legislative fix. Salzburg believes the proposed legislation will clarify the statute and remove the problems with determining which states should be granted reciprocity.

“The existing statute requires the Attorney General to determine whether other states' concealed carry laws have requirements that are 'similar' to Wyoming's. The problem is that other states' laws are similar to Wyoming's requirements, in some respects, and markedly dissimilar in others. Because reciprocity is an important issue, I wanted more certainty regarding the scope of my statutory review of other states’ laws,” Salzburg said.

Sen. Cale Case is the primary sponsor of the legislation, with co-sponsors Sen. Eli Bebout, Rep. Edward Buchanan, Rep. Pat Childers, Rep. David Miller and Rep. Owen Petersen. The Governor sent a letter expressing his support for the legislation to the bill’s sponsors, Thursday.

NRA's Personal Protection Class

It's been a hectic week. I spent some of it as part of a team teaching the National Rifle Association Personal Protection in the Home class to a dozen law-abiding citizens.

The purpose of the class is to teach people how to better defend themselves from violent attack. While the emphasis is on teaching students to shoot a pistol in a defensive situation such as a burglary while they are present in the home, the class also teaches how handguns work, ammunition selection, safe gunhandling and marksmanship, and there is also included a presentation from a law enforcement officer on Colorado statutes in regards to self-defense. Under state law, any person who passes a criminal background check, and who can provide a certificate from a recognized training organization (like the NRA) can apply for a permit to Carry a Concealed Weapon (CCW) which allows them to carry a handgun almost anywhere in the state.

About 48 of the 50 states currently allow some form of concealed carry. Some states have "may issue" laws, which means that applicants who meet their state's criteria (usually passing a background check and having a taken a suitable shooting class) may be issued a CCW at the discretion of the issuing law enforcement officer (usually a Chief of Police or a County Sheriff).

Other states have passed "shall issue" laws which say that if an idividual applicant satisfies the criminal background check, and the requirement for firearms training, then the issuing law enforcement officer "shall issue" a CCW permit to that person. This is a much more fair system, and is much more in accordance with the Second Amendment right to "Keep and Bear Arms."
The Second Amendment says that "The right of the the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." It does not say, ...not be infringed unless a cop decides to infringe.

NRA Certified Instructors teach classes in all fifty states. For more information, click here for the link to NRA's website.

Colorado Governor Ritter Vetoes Background Check bill

On Friday, May 15, Governor Bill Ritter (D) vetoed Colorado house Bill 1180.

The bill, passed by both houses, would have exempted Colorado concealed handgun permit holders from the background check requirement for the purchase of a firearm. That may be scary to some people, but the truth is that people who are granted concealed carry permits have to undergo a stringent background check as part of their application.

The current National Instant Check System (NICS) that performs a criminal background check on potential gun buyers at the point of sale is overloaded to the point that there is nothing instant about it. Frequently, buyers have to wait at the gun store for hours while the gun dealer hangs on the phone, waiting for the system to perform the check. Quite often shoppers must return to the store the following day to purchase and pick up their new firearm.

HB1180 would have relieved some of the load on the system by allowing people who have a concealed weapons permit to purchase a firearm (remember, most likely they already own at least one) without having to endure the background check. It should have been a simple administrative change to the system, but the Governor saw fit to not streamline an overloaded procedure.

This wasn't really a gun bill because it didn't change anything except a bureacratic procedure that costs taxpayers money. Feel free to contact the governor at (303) 866-2471.

HB1180 -- A Pro-Gun Bill in Colorado

When a statewide instant background check system was first implemented back in the late nineties, anyone who had a concealed weapons permit could buy a gun without having to submit to the background check. Later, the regulations were changed and anybody, including CCW permit holders had to undergo the instant check (which the gun dealer conducted by phone) when purchasing any firearm from an FFL dealer.

The problem was that with the increasing number of sales of firearms over the past year or two, the phone call background check is no longer instant. It can take several hours sometimes for dealers to get through to the government database and verify that it's OK to sell the gun to the customer.

Well in Colorado, both houses of the legislature have passed House Bill 1180, that grants FFL dealers the right to waive the instant check for CCW permit holders. The bill is on its way to Governor Bill Ritter's (D) desk for signing.

No word yet if the Governor will sign it, but considering it's harder to get a CCW permit than it is to pass the instant check, logically, signing the bill should be a formality. We'll see if logic prevails. Stay tuned.