[Vision2020] Idaho Rep. Mark Patterson can carry gun without permit

Tue Nov 12 09:55:31 PST 2013

I’ve known of this since beginning my time as clerk of the highway district, as one of the commissioners would always want something with him proving that yes, he was a highway commissioner and had the legal right to carry concealed as per Idaho code.  I didn’t realize that it was a relatively recent law (1990 – then again, 1990 isn’t all that recent anymore).

It does seem, however, that whatever might trump you from gaining a permit like any other person off the street should also prevent you from being able to carry concealed as an elected official, since most of those “red flags” may also keep you from purchasing a firearm . . . I’d have to look at the form again to see where the yes and no answers on the sheet are and how they affect your purchase.

I guess discussing whether someone with a felony conviction/withheld judgement/whatever should be allowed to run for elected office in the first place is a whole ‘nother thing . . .

DC

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Tom Hansen
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 8:53 AM
To: Moscow Vision 2020
Subject: [Vision2020] Idaho Rep. Mark Patterson can carry gun without permit

Elected officials in the state of Idaho can carry concealed weapons without a permit.

Nice, huh?

Courtesy of today's (November 12, 2013) Spokesman-Review.

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Idaho Rep. Mark Patterson can carry gun without permit

Betsy Z. Russell

BOISE – A legislator whose concealed weapon permit was revoked for lying about a long-ago rape case can still legally carry hidden guns – because Idaho is the only state in the nation that exempts elected officials from the permit law.

The case of state Rep. Mark Patterson, R-Boise, is bringing new attention to the 1990 Idaho law that provides the exemption, and some Idaho lawmakers say it’s time for a change.

Patterson is mulling an appeal of his permit revocation; the Idaho Statesman reported on Sunday that the Ada County sheriff revoked his permit after discovering that he lied twice, in 2007 and 2012, on his permit application. The form asks if the applicant has ever had a withheld judgment for a felony offense. Patterson didn’t disclose his 1974 guilty plea and withheld judgment for assault with intent to commit rape in Florida. He was acquitted in another, unrelated rape case three years later.

Idaho’s elected-official exemption applies to any elected official in the state, from school board members and highway district commissioners to the governor. A slew of others have been added since 1990, including jail guards and city and county officials.

Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, was one of those questioning the exemptions.

“I have a philosophy that those of us in public office should be under the same laws as the general public,” Henderson said.

Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, said: “I think the message it sends is that elected officials get perks. And when it comes to the Second Amendment, I think that’s particularly disturbing, because essentially, it’s saying we should have more ability to protect ourselves than the average citizen.”

But Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on which Patterson serves, said he’s not ready to do away with the elected-official exemption. “Certainly, public officials can be targets in their own rights, especially in today’s world,” he said. But, he said, “I think it’s something that we need to have a further look-see at.”

Patterson, in a written statement issued to two Boise TV stations late Sunday, accused Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney and Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey of “a bare-knuckled campaign to intimidate me from serving the people of Idaho.”

The first-year lawmaker, who unsuccessfully pushed legislation this year to criminalize law enforcement officers who enforce new federal gun-restriction laws that might be enacted, says Raney is targeting him because of his legislation and because he scrutinized the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association’s spending and policies. “This whole thing is to silence me,” Patterson told the Statesman.

Raney dismissed the idea. “The questions that Mr. Patterson raises and the allegations he makes are irrelevant to the fact that he lied on his initial application and his renewal application,” the sheriff said. “That and only that is the reason for our actions.”

Getting a concealed weapon permit in Idaho requires a background check and a training course.

Henderson, 90, got his first gun at age 6, but he and his wife still voluntarily took a concealed-carry class – required for Idaho citizens seeking permits, but not for elected officials – the year before last.

“I still believe that the training is highly desirable, and I believe it should be required,” Henderson said.

House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, said, “I don’t like the fact that there’s a double standard. I think everybody ought to have the same ability and right that the Legislature does: Broaden the exemption.”

Moyle said, “What I’m saying is it ought to include everybody.”

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Who’s covered

Idaho’s elected-official exemption applies to any elected official in the state, from school board members and highway district commissioners to the governor. A slew of others have been added since 1990, including jail guards and city and county officials.

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)

http://www.MoscowCares.com

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

"There's room at the top they are telling you still 

But first you must learn how to smile as you kill 
If you want to be like the folks on the hill."

- John Lennon

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