The state’s Initiative Title Setting Review Board has approved the language for a potential ballot initiative, which could be put before voters this November.
Edgar Antillon, the co-founder of the campaign, told Marijuana Moment, that signature collection is the next major hurdle. The campaign is supported by Guns for Everyone a Second Amendment advocacy group.
He said that the submission of the signature forms must be approved. “But that’s not the most important thing at this stage.”
The proposed initiative, if it becomes law, would remove the state restriction that prohibits law enforcement from issuing concealed handgun permits for people who use marijuana. It states that sheriffs cannot deny a concealed handgun permit based on the lawful use by a permit applicant of marijuana under [the state constitution].
Colorado legalized cannabis for adult use through a ballot measure in 2012. Cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. Under federal law, a person who is an “unlawful” user of a controlled drug, such as marijuana, cannot legally purchase or possess a firearm.
The ballot proposal does not change the federal law but it removes a state-specific barrier that prevents the issuance or concealed handgun permits. It states that the “unlawful use of marijuana or addiction to marijuana” must be determined by state laws and regulations.
The campaign was ready to start gathering signatures for the measure earlier in the year. However, the board gave the effort a major setback by saying mid-January that an older version of the proposal violated the state’s rule on voter initiatives.
On Wednesday, the initiative title board reviewed the language that was submitted by organizers.
Antillon explained the changes made to the new language in order to address the concerns of the board. The board felt that in certain areas the language was too vague and could allow other substances users to obtain concealed carry permits. We disagree, but the board feels this way.
He said that they had added specific language to other parts of the initiative.
The campaign still aims to win the November election, despite the delay of nearly two months.
Guns for Everyone plans to recruit supporters by attending existing cannabis and firearms events.
He said, “It is not difficult: Just go to the 4/20 events.” “We are lucky to have the biggest 4/20 event in the entire nation here in our state.”
Antillon added that a Red Rocks festival, as well as monthly gun shows, “also provide an opportunity for us”. It’s simple: get people who enjoy marijuana and guns to want to be able defend themselves. “We will be able find them in all of these places.”
In a interview conducted by Marijuana Moment in late 2013 as the campaign worked to refine the original version of the proposal, Antillon stated that support for reform has grown over the past few years, both among gun rights advocates and cannabis activists.
Antillon stated, “I believe this is something that most Coloradans support.” It’s a right that everyone should be able to enjoy.
The federal government has not consistently enforced the law against marijuana users purchasing or owning guns. Attorneys representing President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden who was charged by the Department of Justice with illegally possessing a gun while using illegal drugs have argued that thousands of marijuana users living in states where it is legal already own guns.
The younger Biden’s legal team has claimed that even the prosecutor in the case acknowledged that “an ordinary citizen wouldn’t be prosecuted” for this offense, which they have argued is “borne out by DOJ’s policy and statistics evidence.”
A little-noticed FBI memo from 2019, which recently surfaced, shows that the federal government generally does not view it as a crime for medical cannabis caregivers or growers to own guns.
In recent years, the statute that backed the prohibition was challenged by a number federal courts. More than one court ruled the restriction unconstitutional. DOJ has maintained the ban, claiming that both medical marijuana users and regular consumers present unique dangers for society, which justify denying Second Amendment rights.
The Biden administration claimed that cannabis consumers with guns pose a unique danger to society. This is because they are “unlikely” to store their weapon properly. The Biden administration argued that cannabis consumers who own guns are a special danger to society. This is because they are “unlikely to” store their weapons properly.
The federal government has claimed repeatedly that these analogues support limiting the gun rights of cannabis users. But a number of federal courts have ruled the marijuana-related prohibition unconstitutional. This has led DOJ to appeal several ongoing cases.
In October, the Justice Department made similar arguments during oral argument in a related but separate case before the U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit. This case is about the Second Amendment rights for medical cannabis patients in Florida.
The attorneys in both cases also touched upon a U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit ruling, Daniels v. United States from August that found that the ban prohibiting people who use cannabis from possessing firearms was unconstitutional. This is true even if the marijuana users consume it for non-medical purposes.
DOJ had informed the Eleventh Circuit Court that it believed the ruling to be “incorrectly determined,”, and the department’s lawyer reiterated the government’s view that “there are reasons to doubt the foundations” in the appeals court’s decision.
In February, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ruled that the prohibition against people using marijuana possessing firearms was unconstitutional. The judge stated that the federal government’s justification for maintaining the law is “concerning.”
In U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, a judge ruled in April that banning people who use marijuana from possessing firearms is unconstitutional–and it said the same legal principle also applies to the sale and transfer of guns.
ATF wrote to Arkansas officials in August to warn them that the recently passed law allowing medical cannabis patients to get concealed carry licenses was “unacceptable” and could compromise the state’s alternative firearm licensing policy, which has been approved by the federal government.
issued a warning shortly after Minnesota’s Governor signed the legalization bill in law. The agency reminded that cannabis users are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms and ammunition until federal prohibition is lifted.
ATF will issue an advisory in 2020 that specifically targets Michigan and requires gun sellers conduct federal background checks for all unlicensed buyers. It said Michigan’s cannabis laws allowed “habitual marijuana consumers” and other disqualified persons to obtain firearms without a license.
Attorneys for Hunter Biden have cited the previous court ruling on the constitutionality of the federal gun ban and argued that it also applies to the case of their client.
Two Republican members of Congress have introduced two bills in this session, focusing on marijuana and gun policy.
Rep. Brian Mast, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and a member of the House of Representatives, introduced legislation in May that would protect the Second Amendment right of marijuana users in states where the drug is legal. This bill would allow them to buy and possess firearms, which they are currently prohibited to have under federal law.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) has also pledged to attach this legislation to a bipartisan cannabis banking bill.
Mast also cosponsored a separate law from Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), which would allow medical marijuana patients to buy and possess firearms in a more limited way.
Jersey City, New Jersey is one place where this issue is of particular relevance. Mayor Steven M. Fulop, (D), is suing the state over its policy which allows police officers to smoke marijuana when they are not on duty.
Two police officers have sued Jersey City for what they claim is a politically-motivated move made by Fulop to support a future gubernatorial race. A police union has asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit in the city case, calling it “pure hooey.”
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