<div dir="ltr"><h5 style="clear:both" class=""><a href="http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/apr/15/gun-laws-make-idaho-a-haven-for-firearms/">http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/apr/15/gun-laws-make-idaho-a-haven-for-firearms/</a></h5>
<h1>Gun laws make Idaho a haven for firearms supporters</h1><h5 style="clear:both" class=""><a class="" href="http://www.spokesman.com/2013/apr/15/">April 15, 2013</a> in <a href="http://www.spokesman.com/idaho/">Idaho</a></h5>
<h1><strong style="margin-right:3px"><a rel="author" href="http://www.spokesman.com/staff/betsy-russell/">Betsy Z. Russell</a>
</strong>The Spokesman-Review<br></h1>
<div class=""><span></span><p>BOISE – As the nation remains locked in debate over expanding
background checks and other measures aimed at stemming gun violence,
Idaho lawmakers this year pushed to expand the state’s already-friendly
posture on gun rights.</p><p>“There’s little doubt that Idahoans are
very supportive of the Second Amendment,” said House Speaker Scott
Bedke, R-Twin Falls. “I think we made significant progress on
that front.”</p><p>Although nine bills were debated, including
unsuccessful proposals to arm school principals and arrest state and
local law enforcement officers who enforce any new federal restrictions
on gun rights, just four modest tweaks to existing laws won approval.
The most notable among them was creation of an optional enhanced
concealed weapons permit that would require additional training but
would be accepted in more states.</p><p>Idaho’s existing gun laws are
already among the least restrictive in the nation. The NRA calls Idaho a
“gun-friendly” state, and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
rates it as tied for next to last among states in its gun control laws,
scoring only 2 out of 100. </p>“Since I’ve been in the Legislature,
every year we work on gun laws, tightening up our gun laws and making
sure we’re protecting people’s rights to own,” said state Sen. Marv
Hagedorn, R-Meridian, a retired Navy officer and frequent sponsor of gun rights
legislation who is in his seventh year in the Legislature. “It’s
getting hard for us – there’s no easy fixes anymore.”<p>That hasn’t
stopped Idaho lawmakers from trying. House members were so incensed this
year about the Senate’s refusal to consider its plan to outlaw state
and local enforcement of any new federal gun restrictions that when
Hagedorn’s school safety bill – requiring school districts to develop
school security plans, which could include arming teachers or others on
school campuses – arrived in the House, they stripped out the entire
contents of the bill and replaced it with their House-passed measures as
a protest. Then, the amended bill died.</p><p>Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur
d’Alene, said one of his biggest disappointments in this year’s
legislative session was not having “pro-Second Amendment legislation
pass both houses.” Mendive was a co-sponsor of House Bill 219, the
proposal that would have made it a misdemeanor crime for Idaho police
officers to enforce new federal gun restrictions.</p><p>Asked if he sees
gaps in Idaho’s current laws to protect Second Amendment rights,
Mendive said, “I guess we can’t overprotect the Second Amendment. It’s
there for a reason, and we need to make sure that we preserve it.”</p><p>The
Idaho Constitution says, “No law shall impose licensure, registration
or special taxation on the ownership or possession of firearms or
ammunition. Nor shall any law permit the confiscation of firearms,
except those actually used in the commission of a felony.”</p><p>Idaho
permits the open carrying of firearms, even in the state Capitol; it has
a state law pre-empting any local regulation of guns; machine guns are
legal; and there are no state limits or restrictions on gun purchases,
other than requiring written consent of parents or guardians for sales
to those under age 18. Existing shooting ranges are protected against
nuisance lawsuits, and Idaho has a “firearms freedom law” declaring that
Idaho-made guns and ammunition are exempt from federal regulation as
long as they remain within the state.</p><p>Gun rights are part of the
culture in Idaho, which is known nationally and internationally for its
hunting. Each year, more than 10,000 people sign up for hunter education courses through the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.</p><p>“I
think it’s because we’re not that far removed from the frontier, where
guns were necessary for survival, and now largely used for recreation,”
longtime Idaho political observer Jim Weatherby said. “We became a
territory only 150 years ago. And that’s just two lifetimes ago.”</p><p>He
noted that gun rights are practically an article of faith for Idaho
politicians from either party. “As far as I know, no successful
candidate for statewide office has ever proposed gun control, not even
liberal politicians like Frank Church,” he said. “It’s just part of our
political culture – widely accepted, rarely seen as a negative – that
people had guns in their household.”</p><p>Hagedorn said, “Frankly,
we’ve got really good gun laws in Idaho, starting from our constitution
on down, and when people ask us to make it better, it’s hard to
find ways.”</p><p>Stephanie Samford, an NRA spokeswoman, said, “Idaho
has gun laws that respect the Second Amendment. … Idaho has very
gun-friendly laws.”</p><p>The other three gun bills that passed the Idaho Legislature this year were:</p><p>
• House Bill 258, to give Idahoans who apply for a concealed weapons
permit a free copy of their background check if they want it. It passed
both houses unanimously. </p><p> • House Bill 223, a bill to clarify
that concealed weapons permits aren’t required for certain weapons –
knives with blades up to 4 inches, Tasers and pepper spray. Rep. Pete
Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, proposed the bill after his son was cited for
having a knife concealed under the seat of his car. It also passed both
houses unanimously. </p><p> • House Bill 183, to repeal a no-longer-used
law that let cities regulate concealed weapons. That law hasn’t applied
since Idaho passed its state pre-emption law for regulation of guns in
2008. The bill drew two “no” votes in the House and passed unanimously
in the Senate. </p><p>Gov. Butch Otter and legislative leaders have pledged to work over the summer on further gun-rights legislation. </p><p>Asked
if there are holes in the state’s remaining gun-rights laws, Bedke
said, “I don’t know that there are holes, but I think there are concerns
in the body politic that there might be.”</p>-----------------------------------------<br></div><div class="">Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<br></div></div>