Date: 02/16/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1180

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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07:12 PM -- House Bill 09-1180

Representative King, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1180 concerning allowing valid Colorado concealed handgun permits to satisfy background check requirements for transfers of firearms. Current state and federal law requires a firearm vendor to obtain a background check on a prospective buyer before selling the buyer a gun. This bill allows the buyer to present a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon in order to satisfy the background check requirement. The bill also amends the application process for obtaining a permit to carry a concealed weapon to include information about an applicant's citizenship status.

The committee discussed the various background checks for concealed carry permits and purchasing a firearm. The committee talked about information contained in the fiscal note.

07:22 PM --
Phil Barber, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Barber is a practicing attorney with an interest in gun laws. He feels the bill picks away at important existing policies. He responded to questions from the committee about background checks required for concealed carry permits.

07:28 PM --
Tom Mauser, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Mauser stated his belief that Colorado voters wanted to close the gun show loophole and this bill weakens that closure. He commented that many things can change in a five year period. He discussed the shift from doing background checks at the state level to have the federal government be responsible for that task and the shift back to the state level. He asked the committee to honor the will of the people to conduct a background check on every gun sale.

07:34 PM --
Amy Miller, Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Miller provided statistics about firearms, domestic violence, background checks, and concealed carry permits. She raised concerns about the renewal period for a permit and commented that situations often change in that period of time. Ms. Miller responded to questions from the committee. She also expressed opposition to the bill from the League of Women Voters.

07:55 PM --
Eileen McCarron, Colorado Ceasefire Capitol Fund, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. McCarron stated her belief that the bill says that once a person has a clean background, they will have a clean background for at least five years. The concealed carry permits cannot predict future behavior. She commented that studying the issue of crimes committed by concealed carry permit holders because data is not kept in most states about permits.

08:07 PM --
Anthony Fabian, Colorado State Shooting Association and the National Rifle Association, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Fabian indicated that federal law permits the use of a concealed carry permit to satisfy the background check. He stated that he does not know of a single permit holder in Colorado who misused his or her permit, using a gun to commit a crime.

08:14 PM --
Robert Edmiston, Firearms Coalition of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Edmiston stated that the background check for a concealed carry permit is more rigorous than that for a simple gun purchase. He provided statistics about the revocation of permits across the country and in Colorado. In Colorado between 2003 and 2006, 0.1 percent of issued permits were revoked. He cited studies that show that gun control does not prevent crime.

08:27 PM --
Noah Miller, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Miller is a concealed carry permit holder and he feels this bill is fiscally responsible.


08:30 PM

Representative Levy laid over the bill for additional testimony and action until Thursday, February 19, and adjourned the committee.