Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) — A proposed law allowing residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit will not create a greater threat to police and will align state law with the U.S. Constitution, a northern Idaho sheriff said.
Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler said the "Constitutional Carry" bill introduced by lawmakers last month reflects the true meaning of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"All this does is make it consistent," Wheeler told the Bonner County Daily Bee (http://bit.ly/1EaegKY ) in a story on Sunday.
He said people carrying concealed weapons without permits would not create a greater threat to police because police are already trained to assume people are armed, whether it's during a traffic stop or some other interaction with the public.
"It's not going to change tactics and it's not going to change how police officers look at officer safety," Wheeler said.
Two eastern Idaho law enforcement officers disagree and say the proposed law is a bad idea.
Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen and Pocatello Police Chief Scott Marchand came out against the bill last month, saying it will make the jobs of law enforcement officers tougher.
Currently, Idaho residents who want to carry a concealed weapon need a permit. There are two types of permits available in Idaho, one of which requires training and is recognized as valid in some other states. The enhanced permit also allows holders to carry concealed weapons on college and university campuses but with some restrictions.
Under the proposed law, sheriffs would continue to issue the enhanced concealed weapons permits that require specific training, but they would no longer be responsible for the other permit that is available to any person not disqualified from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.
One of the disqualifiers, for example, is having been found guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a year or more.
The bill brought forward by the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance was introduced Feb. 5 and is currently being held in the House State Affairs Committee.
The committee's chairman, Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, has said he wants to make sure the law won't affect Idaho's agreements with other states to recognize Idaho's concealed carry permits.
Last week, he said on the House floor that his family and the family members of other committee members were being harassed by backers of the proposed law who were calling home phone numbers of lawmakers, actions he described as a "new low."
___
Information from: Bonner County (Idaho) Daily Bee, http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
