The supporters of the proposed Colorado ballot measure to permit marijuana users to get concealed carry permits, will appear before the Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday. This is the last step before they begin collecting voter signatures for the reform to be placed on the November ballot.
Guns for Everyone is an advocacy group for the Second Amendment that offers concealed carry classes for free to residents of the state. It opposes all gun control measures including barriers to firearm ownership as well as concealed carry.
Federal law states that a person who is an “unlawful” user of a controlled substance (including marijuana) cannot legally purchase or possess a firearm. According to the proposal of the Colorado group, concealed carry permit applications would no longer be denied to those who are federally ineligible for gun ownership. The proposal would also include an explicit exception for marijuana users to a section that prohibits concealed carry permits from being issued to illegal users of controlled drugs.
Edgar Antillon, Guns for Everyone co-founder, believes that marijuana is a low-hanging branch in the effort of rolling back restrictions on firearms more generally, including restrictions for people who use illegal substances and those dishonorably discharged.
In a recent interview, he stated that if we wanted to be successful then this was one way to do it. It is to tackle the issues which are guaranteed to win.
Antillon spoke with Marijuana Moment about the concealed carry proposition, and how it will be on Colorado’s ballot in this year. A similar effort that failed to gather enough signatures for qualification was launched last year. He is optimistic and says that the support for this cross-issue reform has grown over the past few years, both among gun rights advocates and cannabis activists.
The following is a lightly edited transcript of the interview. It has been shortened and clarified for clarity.
Marijuana moment: Can you walk us through the next steps, such as when you will be able to start collecting signatures?
Edgar Antillon : Yeah. The next step has already been planned. We’ll be hearing the secretary of State on the third of January. They’ll give us the final approval. By next week, we hope to have started collecting signatures.
You’ve already been featured on local news, Marijuana Moment and other media. What are the responses that you get from people in Colorado?
This time, we have deliberately kept it low-key. The response so far has been positive, and I would say to some degree encouraging. So far, the response has been positive.
Colorado is a state that could be a good place to test this new political mix of blue and red. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Colorado has historically been a state of purple, right? Colorado is purple to those who were born and raised in the state. It’s the home of the Libertarian Party. This is definitely a Colorado-specific issue. It’s about freedom.
As for the next steps, signature collection can be an obstacle that costs a lot of cash. What is your plan? Are you confident that you’ll be able to get through that stage?
We learned the hard way that signature collection is probably the most difficult part. This time, I believe we have a much better network. The majority of gun shops are more open than the first time to this idea. This idea has been accepted by more dispensaries than the first time. Our network has expanded. We’re optimistic about the overall signature collection.
It’s interesting to know that dispensaries and gun shops are both regulated. Did they not want to be associated with politics or the other issue, or both?
The legalization of marijuana was so near that it was a relatively recent thing. Everyone was afraid to poke the bear. Now, after many years, marijuana is almost unimportant. It has become so commonplace that most people do not even consider it a negative thing.
In that vein, I understand your proposal is about concealed-carry permits, but there has been a lot of activity lately around the federal law prohibiting gun ownership by those who use illegal drugs. Hunter Biden’s federal lawsuit about owning a firearm while being a Cocaine user is not the only reason for this. As you know, different circuit courts are currently dealing with this issue. What do you think about the larger picture of what is happening in trying to bring these two issues together?
It’s always encouraging when the discussion is taking place. It’s obvious that if there is no conversation, nothing will move forward or in any direction. Hunter Biden is a man we talk about a lot, and we do so in joking, but he has been incredibly helpful to the Second Amendment Community, whether we want him to be or not. It did spark a conversation. It raised questions. This started to get people talking about this more, and being serious about our liberties and how we will approach it in future. This was encouraging. Not every sector is winning. It is moving slowly. It’s slow, but the conversation is happening.
You must have spoken to many people about this topic. Are gun owners in Colorado who use cannabis worried about federal enforcement?
They don’t really think about it too much. In Colorado, we feel that the federal stuff is a difficult thing to prosecute. The feds were heavily involved in Colorado early on. We see that, in the end, they have kind of vanished and no longer operate as they used to. We saw many raids in the past, and they were trying to put pressure on each other. The federal government knew that this was a 10th Amendment matter. The federal government is letting states decide what to do. They’re not too concerned about the federal issue.
Colorado is one of the few states to have legalized psychedelics. Do you think that this is the next step in expanding Second Amendment rights to people who use substances like psilocybin for recreational purposes? What are your thoughts on the changing substances that are now legal?
We would remove all firearm restrictions if we could. Unfortunately, in Colorado, the ballot initiative must be limited to a single topic. We don’t want more than one topic to be discussed at the moment because of the legal implications, right? We can’t tackle more than one issue at this time, mainly because of legal ramifications. So, no. If we could, I would remove every firearm restriction.
The next question might be: Why cannabis? How did you choose cannabis as a place to begin?
If we’re honest, this is the easiest thing to do. It’s almost silly to have to do this in 2023 when most places are either decriminalized, or legal. It’s just silly, especially here in Colorado, that this is still an issue. It’s important to tackle the issues which are the most likely to succeed if we want to achieve success. This is one, and we hope to gain traction.
Do you ever consider challenging this in court instead of at the polling booth?
It’s very difficult to reach the Supreme Court in Colorado because of the way the state is set up. Our circuit has never been able, historically, to reach the Supreme Court. It’s not like our circuit is known for sending cases to the Supreme Court. Rocky Mountain Gun Owners has tried to sue multiple times in court and the case always seems to get stuck in one place. It seems to be a moot issue.
What other questions should I have asked that I may not have known to ask?
Many people are afraid of talking about the issue of safety, and whether or not marijuana users can use firearms. We have to accept and acknowledge that freedom isn’t safe. Freedom is, unfortunately, dangerous. I don’t consider marijuana users to be a dangerous group of people. Historially, marijuana users are a lot safer than alcohol drinkers. It’s not the right way to view freedom. Freedom isn’t about safety. Freedom means you can do what you like and buy what suits you, as long as it doesn’t hurt other people. If that happens, you will face the consequences for your actions. You should be able to enjoy the pleasures of life without any restrictions until this happens.
More States Set To Legalize Marijuana And Psychedelics In 2024 As Federal Cannabis Scheduling Review Concludes
The post Colorado Signature Drive for Ballot Measure Allowing Marijuana users to Carry Concealed Weapons Could Launch This week appeared on Marijuana Moment.
New Mexico regulators have revoked licenses for two cannabis farms