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When it comes to personal firearms and the law in Colorado, we might start with the state constitution. Granted, this document is ignored by various governors who support railroad mergers or who promote putting the state into debt to build highways. But as good citizens, we can examine Article II, the Colorado bill of rights.
Section 3 provides that All persons have certain
natural, essential and inalienable rights, among which may
be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives
and liberties; of acquiring, possessing and protecting
property, and of seeking and obtaining their safety and
happiness.
Section 13 says that The right of no person to keep
and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property,
or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned,
shall be called in question; but nothing herein contained
shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying
concealed weapons.
If I read those two provisions correctly, then every Coloradan enjoys the right to protect his life, liberty and property, and can do so with a firearm. However, there is no constitutional right to conceal that firearm.
This always seemed fair enough to me. I can think of only three sensible reasons to carry a gun:
1) To protect yourself, or someone you see in trouble, in case of assault.
2) To deter assaults.
3) To display how much of a stud you are in case your shiny new duals-on-the-rear winch-on-the-front lights-atop-the-cab chrome-stepladders-under-the-doors four-wheel-drive pickup isn't big enough.
In all three cases, it would appear that a non-concealed weapon would work better. A hogleg on your hip, or a carbine over your shoulder, would be more accessible if you needed to use it. Its visible presence should discourage human predators, and likewise, if you want to impress the neighbors with your hardware, you should keep it out where they can see it.
At any rate, it appears that the right to carry a visible weapon is guaranteed by the supreme law of our state, and so you should be able to carry a visible gun anywhere you want to -- city streets, airports, schools, parks, etc.
That should be enough, but instead, we get treated to a lot of silly statements in the legislature as it discusses changing Colorado's concealed-weapons law.
· Unless we allow concealed weapons in parks, then homicidal predators will have their way because they will know that all the law-abiding citizens in the park are unarmed.
Consider that the law-abider's concealed weapon is a pistol, and that the serious killing sprees in such places could well be conducted by snipers who use rifles from a distance well beyond a pistol's range. What good would the pistol do?
· There are law-abiding citizens
who can,
on that account, be trusted to carry concealed weapons.
Really? Consider how many laws there are, and then ponder whether you're obeying all of them, all the time.
When I tried that myself yesterday, I felt fortunate not to be in prison. I walked to the post office with a dog whose license had expired. I jaywalked to get across the street, where I trespassed across a parking lot.
At the post office, I met several acquaintances who might have abused controlled substances at some time or another, and I did not immediately inform the authorities of these suspicions.
None of us is really law-abiding
now. If it ever
came to pass that we were, the legislature would pass more
laws, so that police, prosecutors and prison guards would
stay employed.
· The widespread carrying of weapons reduces
crime. Supporters of concealed carry
cite
impressive statistics to show how Florida's crime rate has
dropped since it liberalized its law. However, the crime
rate has also plunged in New York City, which has very
strict laws (none of which keep the police from killing
people that they suspect of carrying concealed
weapons).
In other words, the statistics can demonstrate whatever we want them to demonstrate, and further, any crime reduction can be undone by the legislature with its power to create crimes. So any concealed-weapon effect on the crime rate, one way or another, isn't worth arguing about.
What should our legislature do?
1) Clarify the current definitions of concealed weapons -- try finding out whether a pistol in the glove box is or isn't a concealed weapon that requires a permit.
2) Totally ban the carrying of concealed weapons by anyone -- cop, citizen, federal agent. That is within the legislature's constitutional powers, and it maintains the right of citizens to keep and bear arms.
Some might object to this, but why should we listen to wimps who are so sensitive that they'd get embarrassed if others found out they were toting a pistol? If being armed is important to you, then why should you mind if other people know?
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