GOOD: Colorado Takes Permit Authority Away From Anti-2A Police Chiefs

CT-Mike · May 17th, 2008, 09:08 AM

Sheriffs protect right to bear arms | Reader Submissions | The Tribune

Quote:

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

A mere 27 words make up the entire text of the Second Amendment of our Constitution. These few words stir emotions, instill fear, cause anger, elicit excitement and ultimately result in an individual sense of security. Sadly, they are some of the most misunderstood and most maligned in America today.

Some people believe, incorrectly, that the words refer only to the states' ability to form a militia. Most believe, correctly, that the Second Amendment applies to both the state and the individual. These 27 words guarantee that individuals have the right to own firearms. In June the U.S. Supreme Court will make its first ruling on this issue since 1939.

Make no mistake about where I stand in this debate; the Bill of Rights was written to protect the rights of the individual and not that of the state or the federal government. I am a fervent proponent of the individual's right to bear arms.

One especially contentious issue concerning the Second Amendment is concealed weapons permits. When I ran for my first term as sheriff in 2004, I contacted more than 600 delegates and alternates to the Republican county assembly to line up support for my party's nomination. The No. 1 question asked of me concerned my position on the Second Amendment and concealed weapons permits. This question cut across all demographics: young, old, white, Latino, men and women; and all professions: clergy, laborers, attorneys, teachers, stay-at-home parents, government employees and physicians.

Clearly, concealed weapons permits were important then and still are now to Weld County residents. To their credit, in 2003 a majority of Colorado legislators along with Gov. Bill Owens also recognized the importance of concealed weapons permits for the entire state.

The General Assembly found that widespread inconsistency existed among jurisdictions with regard to the issuance of permits. The inconsistencies resulted in "arbitrary and capricious" denial of permits based on where a person lived and not on his or her qualifications.

Legislators discovered other problems as well. Fed up with the blatant violations of the Second Amendment, Colorado lawmakers standardized the rules for issuing concealed weapons permits. Now, an individual cannot be denied a permit based on where he or she lives, and all permits are recognized statewide.

Another important change is that now only the county sheriff issues permits. In the past, chiefs of police also issued permits. However, chiefs do not answer to voters. Many did not agree with the majority of state legislators, Gov. Owens, the county sheriffs and Colorado voters that law-abiding citizens have the right to carry a concealed weapon, and therefore refused to issue concealed weapons permits. Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner does not fall into that category.

Even among sheriffs there is not total agreement on qualifications for concealed weapons permits. The biggest disagreement is on the entry of permit holders' name into a statewide database. In the concealed weapons law, it is optional for the county sheriff to enter the names into the database. I absolutely refuse to enter Weld permit holders into the state computer system just because they legally exercise their rights.

Government has no right to know who has a concealed weapons permit or who owns a gun. That's why I am so proud of the Weld County Sheriff's Office's most recent milestone. I just issued our 2,000th permit. From a safety perspective, I am happy that the number keeps growing. People have a right to self-protection and to live free from the fear of crime. Having a firearm and a concealed weapons permit help achieve those goals.

John Cooke is the sheriff of Weld County.

I would definitely vote for Sheriff Cooke if I lived in his district.

Slim_45 · May 17th, 2008, 09:20 AM

Quote:

I would definitely vote for Sheriff Cooke if I lived in his district.

+1

dukalmighty · May 17th, 2008, 03:27 PM

I'd vote him in for president,he knows how to read the constitution as it is written not as it might of been or could be interpreted to maybe mean something else

retsupt99 · May 17th, 2008, 07:30 PM

Vote for the sheriff? I'd like to live in his county...

ccw9mm · May 17th, 2008, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Government has no right to know who has a concealed weapons permit or who owns a gun.

Neither does it have a need to know. (A desire on the part of some bureaucratic hacks doesn't constitute need or right.)

TacticalCompact · May 17th, 2008, 08:30 PM

Wow. I think I'm in love.

HITCH KING · May 17th, 2008, 10:39 PM

I would marry him

Redneck Repairs · May 17th, 2008, 11:10 PM

He is just a pretty common example of Colorado Sheriff's as a whole , and especially rural Sheriffs out here .

CT-Mike · May 18th, 2008, 09:05 AM

Redneck,

Good on the voters in your area for electing such common-sense down to earth individuals. I think the high point of this story is that the sheriff also feels that the gov't has no right to know who has weapons and who doesn't. That is refreshing in this day and age of big brother.

FN1910 · May 18th, 2008, 04:01 PM

Do I understand this correctly as when the Sheriff issues a permit there is no record of it being issued? That is interesting. SC recently passed the law where the list cannot be released to anyone other than law enforcement agencies for crime solving but no record at all is a new one to me. If he keeps a county record I really can't see much difference between the county keeping the records and the state, theiy are both governments.

May 17th, 2008, 03:27 PM	#3
dukalmighty Distinguished Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: texas Posts: 1,954	I'd vote him in for president,he knows how to read the constitution as it is written not as it might of been or could be interpreted to maybe mean something else __________________ The only gun you will ever want more than the others Is the gun you don't have when you need It

May 17th, 2008, 07:30 PM	#4
retsupt99 VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Central Florida Posts: 11,450	Vote for the sheriff? I'd like to live in his county... __________________ ‘‘Four out of five politicians surveyed prefered unarmed, ignorant peasants.’’ — Unknown Liberals are as American as 'dog dodo' pie...

May 17th, 2008, 11:10 PM	#8
Redneck Repairs VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 4,946	He is just a pretty common example of Colorado Sheriff's as a whole , and especially rural Sheriffs out here . __________________ Make sure you get full value out of today , Do something worthwhile, because what you do today will cost you one day off the rest of your life . We only begin to understand folks after we stop and think . Criminals are looking for victims, not opponents.

May 18th, 2008, 09:05 AM	#9
CT-Mike Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: CT Posts: 794	Redneck, Good on the voters in your area for electing such common-sense down to earth individuals. I think the high point of this story is that the sheriff also feels that the gov't has no right to know who has weapons and who doesn't. That is refreshing in this day and age of big brother. __________________ Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. - Thomas Jefferson

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May 17th, 2008, 08:30 PM	#6
TacticalCompact Ex Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Nevada Posts: 321	Wow. I think I'm in love.

May 17th, 2008, 10:39 PM	#7
HITCH KING Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NY Posts: 417	I would marry him

May 18th, 2008, 04:01 PM	#10
FN1910 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: SC Posts: 815	Do I understand this correctly as when the Sheriff issues a permit there is no record of it being issued? That is interesting. SC recently passed the law where the list cannot be released to anyone other than law enforcement agencies for crime solving but no record at all is a new one to me. If he keeps a county record I really can't see much difference between the county keeping the records and the state, theiy are both governments.