Idaho Sheriff: Concealed Carry Permit = Second Amendment
An Idaho sheriff has said the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is essentially a permit that acts a concealed carry permit.
Idaho currently is one of the states looking to repeal the requirement that people need a permit to carry a gun in public. State lawmakers introduced a bill in the Idaho House on Feb. 5, which essentially says gun owners don’t need a concealed carry permit.
Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler supports the measure.
“The right to bear arms is already in the constitution and I think it makes it consistent with our federal statutes,” Wheeler told KHQ-TV, an NBC affiliate. He added that about 700 people per year apply for concealed carry permits, and he said that less than 5 percent are denied.
“If you’re a criminal you’re not going to go and follow through and get a concealed weapons permit,” Wheeler said. “If you’re going to commit a crime then you’re just going to commit a crime.”
He elaborated that it wouldn’t affect day-to-day police operations. “Any stop we initiate, we ask if they have a weapon,” said Wheeler. “Somebody having a concealed weapons permit is not going to prohibit or change our tactics. And if they aren’t suppose to have that weapon, we’ll find out when we run them through our computers.”
The wave of local governments and Sheriff’s recognizing the 2nd Amendment as the ONLY permit we need to carry firearms continues. This time it comes from Idaho’s Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler. The Sheriff makes a number of points as to why permitless concealed carry will not negatively affect his police department or his community.
First and foremost is that a criminal is not going to follow through and take all the steps to legally carry a firearm. They are criminals and will just use one anyways. Creating permits puts the burden on honest folks who want to protect themselves, and sometimes these permits prevent people from doing so due to cost and training requirements.
Another point that he makes is that people are already trained to expect every suspect to have a weapon. Furthermore, there are already laws in place that prevent criminals and others from owning firearms, so one run through on the computer will let police know if someone they stopped is allowed to carry a firearm.
The best point he makes, however, is that the right to bear arms is already in the constitution and should be the only thing we need to be able to carry a firearm for our own personal defense.
Idaho is currently debating new gun laws that could bring Constitutional Carry to the entire state. The proposed bill, however, is dueling with another pro-gun bill that would expand concealed gun rights but not issue Concealed Carry. We will continue to watch closely the situation in Idaho and report as news breaks on the issue.
