Pubdate: Wed, 24 Dec 2014
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Press
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Ivan Moreno, Associated Press

PROPOSAL SEEKS GUN PERMITS FOR COLORADO POT USERS

DENVER (AP) - Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational 
marijuana sales. Now the state's voters may consider a ballot measure 
to allow cannibis smokers to carry concealed firearms.

The "Colorado Campaign for Equal Gun Rights" is working to put a 
question on the November 2016 ballot to have Colorado ignore 
guidelines from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives about firearms and marijuana.

The measure would change state law to prevent sheriffs from denying 
concealed carry permits because of marijuana use. It's a new frontier 
in the marijuana wars, and one that has divided gun-rights activists.

"It's just ridiculous," said Edgar Antillon, one of the campaign 
organizers, who argues that firearms aren't kept from alcohol 
drinkers. "Somebody can get extremely drunk - Saturday, Sunday, 
Monday, and all week if they want - and they can still get a 
concealed carry permit."

He said he and his campaign partner, Isaac Chase, who run a firearm 
training business called "Guns For Everyone," are reaching out to gun 
rights groups for support, including those involved in last year's 
recall of two state senators who supported stricter firearm laws. 
Colorado organizers need more than 86,100 signatures to send the 
question to voters, and it's unclear whether Antillon's campaign will 
get enough support to launch.

The campaign would put Colorado again in direct conflict with federal 
guidelines about the drug.

In 2011, the ATF sent states a directive to keep guns away from 
marijuana users.

'Somebody can get extremely drunk . . . and they can still get a 
concealed carry permit.'

Earlier this year, Senator John Walsh, a Montana Democrat, tried to 
change that, suggesting an amendment to bar federal prosecution of 
medical marijuana patients who own firearms. The amendment failed.

The matter divides gun enthusiasts. The president of the Colorado 
State Shooting Association said his members would oppose letting 
marijuana users carry guns.

"Federal law prohibits the possession and use of marijuana and its 
derivatives, and therefore its possession and use is incompatible 
with legal, responsible firearms ownership," said Tony Fabian, 
president of the Colorado State Shooting Association.

The County Sheriffs of Colorado are lining up against the idea, too.

But it's an open debate whether marijuana-using gun owners are more 
dangerous than others - or even how many people lose gun rights over pot.

Colorado keeps no data on the question. And the Colorado Bureau of 
Investigation, which runs background checks for applicants and gun 
buyers, doesn't track how many are denied concealed carry permits 
because of pot. Neither does the County Sheriffs of Colorado.

People are asked, under oath, 14 questions on Colorado's concealed 
carry application, including whether the person has a restraining 
order, has been convicted of a felony, or has been treated for 
alcoholism within the past 10 years.

They're also asked whether they're "an unlawful user of" marijuana 
"or any other controlled substance." The application is processed by 
county sheriffs.

The conflict has surfaced in other states that allow medical or 
recreational marijuana use, including Washington and Oregon.

In Washington state, forms for concealed weapons permits also ask if 
someone is an "unlawful user" of marijuana, without differentiating 
between state or federal law.

In 2012, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from an Oregon 
sheriff who had been prohibited from denying a concealed handgun 
license to a medical marijuana user. The decision meant the woman and 
other medical marijuana cardholders could obtain concealed handgun licenses.

Antillon, whose company provides the firearm training required for 
concealed carry applicants, said several students have told him 
they've been denied a permit because they use marijuana, either 
medically or recreationally. He said it's unjust that marijuana users 
are being "punished and can't defend their lives."

He argues that marijuana users can also be responsible firearm owners.

"It's going to be that initial battle of educating people. The 
challenge is people thinking that we're allowing people who are high 
to possess handguns," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom