Supporters of the proposed Colorado ballot measure to permit marijuana users to get concealed carry permits attended a Denver hearing Tuesday to discuss feedback and possible changes to the language of the measure before submitting it for review to the secretary state.
Officials from the Legislative Council Staff, and the Office of Legislative Legal Services, raised a few potential issues during the meeting. They asked for clarifications and walked through possible language changes.
The hearing is just the latest hurdle organizers must jump over to get the proposal on the ballot for Colorado in 2024. The campaign will submit their proposed initiative to the Secretary of State after making any necessary changes. They will then begin collecting the 124 238 valid signatures needed to place the question on the ballot.
A memo from officials states that the review “is intended to provide comments to assist proponents to determine the language of their proposals and to make the public aware of the content of the proposal.”
Guns for Everyone is an organization that supports the Second Amendment and offers classes for free to people who want to obtain a concealed carry permit.
Edgar Antillon, co-founder of the company, said that most Coloradans support this measure. It’s a right that everyone should be able to enjoy.
Staff raised the issue of when the measure would take effect if it was passed. The current date is December 2024. Officials asked whether supporters would consider a delay in the date, or if they were willing to wait until the election results are certified.
Isaac Chase, co-founder of Guns for Everyone and Antillon, said he was open to both options.
Conrad Imel of the Office of Legislative Services said that another issue with the proposal is that it could be interpreted as removing the state’s references to other federal firearms restrictions, such as the bans on people who have been dishonorably discharged or committed to a mental facility.
“I don’t think this is the intention of the proposal at all,” Antillon replied, indicating the campaign would strike out the provision in question.
Staff asked if the intention of the proposal was to remove the authority for local sheriffs who are responsible for issuing concealed carry permit to deny applicants based on ” a reasonable belief that documented prior behavior by the applicant makes the applicant likely to present a threat to himself or others.”
Antillon explained that the goal was not to prevent sheriffs from exercising this discretion. He called it a “fine line” between protecting public safety and allowing people their freedoms.
He said that while the organization supports a broader access to guns, it does not want to address all issues at once.
State officials have also raised minor technical issues, primarily the formatting of the ballot proposal.
The one-page measure, in its current form says that a sheriff cannot use the lawful use by a permit applicant of marijuana (under state law) as a reason to deny the permit. It also states that the state law will determine whether marijuana use by a candidate is illegal, not federal law as it is currently done.
Guns for Everyone would split Colorado gun laws from federal law by removing Colorado’s references to firearms prohibitions for cannabis users.
Guns for everyone could not be reached this week for a comment.
A person who is an “unlawful” user of a controlled substance (including marijuana) cannot legally purchase or possess a firearm.
However, enforcement of the rule has been inconsistent. 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 millions of cannabis users in legalized states already own firearms.
The legal team of the younger Biden has claimed that even the prosecutor in the case acknowledged that “an average citizen would not have been prosecuted for the offense, as is supported by DOJ policy and statistical 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 withholding 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 claimed 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 living 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 preventing marijuana users from owning firearms was unconstitutional even if the cannabis is consumed 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 into law a legalization measure in May. The agency reminded that cannabis users are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms and ammunition until the 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 a 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 legislation 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 promised to attach that legislation to the bipartisan marijuana banking bill, which advanced out of committee in December and is now awaiting floor action.
Mast is also sponsoring a separate Bill from Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), in this session, which would allow medical marijuana patients to buy and possess firearms.
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.
This challenge has, however, sparked pushback by two police officers who have sued Jersey City for what they claim is a political motivated move made by Fulop to serve a future gubernatorial election.
Colorado Governor: Marijuana Prohibition Created a ‘Chicken and the Egg’ Research Dilemma that’s Blocking Federal Reform
The first time Marijuana Moment published the article Colorado Panel hears ballot proposal to allow marijuana users to obtain concealed carry permits.
