(washington has this in it’s constitution)
By Mike Soraghan
Denver Post Capitol Bureau

Feb. 1 – Gun-rights advocates want to enforce the laws already on the books, but they also want to get some laws off the books.

Namely, the gun laws of Colorado’s cities and counties. Especially those of Denver, where police can seize the gun and car of someone found driving with a firearm.

Two Republican legislators from Colorado Springs are sponsoring bills limiting local governments’ ability to have their own gun laws.

Rep. Lynn Hefley’s bill would block any city or county from having stricter gun laws than the state, like ones restricting the open carrying of guns or blocking guns from government buildings or sports stadiums. Sen. MaryAnne Tebedo’s bill would block police officers from arresting people for having guns in their cars.

The legislation has come up at a time when Gov. Bill Owens and others are pushing for increased gun control in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre. Similar legislation was on its way to passing last year but was dropped after the April 20 shootings.

Hefley’s bill, HB 1289, advanced Monday as the House sent the bill to the Senate on a 38-26 vote. Tebedo’s bill, SB 154, got an airing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Chairwoman Dottie Wham, RDenver, put off action so that the panel could work on the two bills together.

Supporters of the bills, such as the National Rifle Association, say that Colorado has a confusing “patchwork” of laws. They say that threatens to make criminals out of otherwise law-abiding peo ple driving with guns for a hunting trip or for protection.

“We need one law that is consistent,” Hefley argued to her colleagues Monday. “This is something that will work for the whole state.” They cite the example of Jim West, a Denver resident who told a Senate committee last year how he wound up in jail for two days and without a car for months. He had a gun in his car for protection and was pulled over by Denver police because his license plate was covered by snow.

But opponents argue that cities like Denver need different, stronger gun laws to deal with problems such as gangs. One legislator even dubbed Hefley’s bill “the gangmembers’ relief act.” “It is not the law-abiding citizens that we take off the street,” said Denver police Sgt. Tony Lombard, a department lobbyist. “We are not stopping people with NRA stickers. We’re not stopping people with guns in their back window. We’re stopping people in the vicinity of crimes and taking their guns.” Opponents note that many of Denver’s strict gun laws were passed in response to Denver’s 1993 “Summer of Violence” to deal with inner-city crime issues.

Wham is a swing vote on her committee, which will be key in deciding how the issue is settled. She said she wants to find a compromise that reins in Denver but gives police the tools they need.

“I want to address the issue so that Denver can’t put people who are traveling in this situation,” Wham said. “Meanwhile, I want Denver to be able to catch the bad guys.” Hefley also is working under the threat of a veto by the governor because Republicans beat back an amendment last week that would have banned concealed handguns from schools.

Owens said last week that he will veto the bill if it isn’t clear that schools are off limits for guns. He also said he would have prefer red the bill not come up this year.

“We shouldn’t, as a matter of state policy, pre-empt local governments from deciding where, especially in regards to schools, concealed weapons should be allowed,” Owens said.

Hefley said she is a “team player” and is ready to work with Owens on the wording of the bill.

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