Friday, February 26, 2010

I read the article

Codrea links to, and yeah, this passage is bad:
The bill is also a slap in the face to Wyoming law enforcement. By joining Vermont and Alaska as the only states in the nation to allow conceal-carry without a permit, Wyoming lawmakers would effectively remove the ability of officers to quickly determine if someone who is carrying a weapon is legally entitled to.
It's that phrase 'legally entitled to' that bothers me; it pisses me off that an honest citizen has to jump through a whole set of hoops and pay to be allowed to carry, and it seems to be his concern that nobody should be allowed to without permission from the state. And if you object, well, you don't care about the cops.

Bullcrap.

The fact is that Wyoming residents who meet the reasonable requirements of the state -- including that they have not been convicted of felonies or been adjudicated mentally ill -- have no trouble at all obtaining permits. (The House removed the requirement of proof of firearms training, which Oedekoven said should be restored.)
Uh, guy? If you've got a felony conviction(in some states ANY felony) or are adjudicated mentally ill, it's illegal for you to so much as pick up a gun and look at it, let alone carry it; are you not familiar with this? Or was it just a way to say "See, our restrictions on you are only reasonable? We're only keeping the unworthy from carrying?" Bullcrap that sounds good?

Same attitude in "If we allow just anyone to carry without a permit, criminals will come here!" Oh, please; you don't have laws about robbery and rape and such? You actually think Will they flock to Wyoming to take advantage of the state's looser gun laws? when those laws would mean more of their potential victims would be armed?

Make sure the law notes that if you're drunk or drugged(which you can already be jailed for) it's illegal to carry, make it a rule that when stopped by an officer you have to advise them if you're carrying and simply enforce the laws on anyone acting s illegally. Apparently it'll be a surprise for these folks, but I have a large amount of concern for LE; I've known too many and know just what an often-times miserable job it is. And I get really pissed when it's implied that "If you don't go along with what we say, it means you don't care if cops get killed" line.

Oh, and the reason NRA and other groups helped push so hard for 'shall issue' laws? Because it was the only way to get it through without, I fear I must say, officials like you having the power to prevent someone getting a permit; and in most states the only way to get through the BS and get honest citizens a way to carry for self-defense without winding up in jail. That doesn't mean it should be the end of it; I'd much rather it be "Any honest citizen with no legal matters that would prevent can carry for self-defense, no permit required."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Any honest citizen with no legal matters that would prevent can carry for self-defense, no permit required."

Nothing more really needs to be said.