Looking at my hands, I still have some trace amounts of ink from where I got fingerprinted at the sheriffs department this morning. It was for my
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Enhanced Concealed Weapons Carry License.
I've really gone out of my way to get this license. I took a handgun handling class from an NRA-certified instructor. I took a legal issues with guns class from a really aggressive cop. I went shooting with the NRA instructor to qualify for the certification to just have the right to apply for this license. Now today I paid the sheriff sixty bucks, got fingerprinted, and will be subject to a background investigation that can take up to six weeks.
That is for the Enhanced Concealed Carry. Almost any state in the nation will recognize it (there are a few notable exceptions like California). There is another lower level of concealed carry license where you don't have to do the legal issues part, but you are still subject to a background check. That is not recognized by nearly as many states as the enhanced license.
This is all well and good, but this year the Idaho State legislature and the governor passed a law allowing any Idaho resident to legally conceal carry within the state. While gun rights advocates think that is great, I think it is dumb. There was no pressing issue, no public outcry for this. Even that aggressive cop I took the class from (whom I suspect regards the talking heads on Fox as pussies) seemed to think this was a step way too far.
My wife who knows as much about guns as any person whose entire firearms education comes from watching cop shows has the same right to conceal carry as I do. As does the tweaker in the trailer park who hasn't been caught yet does.
There was a statue proposed some decades back for placement on the west coast. As the east coast had the Statue of Liberty, some conservative thinkers of the time thought there should be a corresponding Statue of Responsibility as the two should go hand in hand. The gun debate now seems to focus on liberty and not on responsibility.
I've got a ton of things to say about this, but long story short, the legislators of this country have the ability and capacity to make meaningful change that doesn't abridge a constitutional right. And instead of insisting on responsible gun ownership which they say with their words, their actions tend to favor the irresponsible.
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