Weird Anti-Obama Fallout: Guns

What a time to be an arms dealer: people are hoarding ammo and guns like crazy in an irrational fear that President Obama, being liberal and black and a democrat and all, is going to secretly ban ownership of .22 bullets and shotguns.  Boy, do I wish I had seen that coming; pawn shops were a steal before the election.

You may want to know:  in fact, I own a passel of guns, and I ain’t tellin’ no one how many or where they are.  And I did all the hard work and got a “carry permit”.

Meanwhile, in the opening salvos of anti-government sentiment, why is an overwhelming majority of the Wyoming House voting to allow drunks, meth-heads, Freemen macho-people, and idiots to carry concealed weapons without a permit, overruling a decades-old, carefully crafted permit system of which law enforcement is fully supportive?  I took the safety training, combat-shooting training, and the character background check to get my permit.  Why is there some urgent necessity to allow everyone else to carry concealed weapons without permits? Duh?

Certain Elements of the Public:  “Whoa, there, buddy, you are way over the top.”

Well, let’s see, am I over the top?

Let’s start with House Bill 113 “Concealed weapons authority”  sponsored by 12 representatives and four senators, including some friends of mine.

It allows anyone over the age of 21 who has not been incarcerated or convicted or committed to an alcohol treatment facility to carry a concealed firearm.

There is no clearance or qualification process; anyone over 21 can carry a concealed firearm until such time as he is detained by a peace officer and proven to be a felon, habitual alcoholic or convicted drug addict.  This statute exempts a huge assortment of sociopaths from the requirement to obtain a permit before packing a concealed weapon.

Well, next, let’s look at Senate File 26, sponsored by Senators Case and Bebout and four representatives.

It amends the concealed weapons permit process to deny permits to persons who are habitual drunks or committed drug addicts, or who have been convicted of misdemeanor violations of drug laws only within one year prior to applying for a carry permit.  Any commitment or conviction older than one year STRANGELY DOES NOT COUNT.

So, if you want a permit and it’s been a year since you went in the drunk tank or got caught using meth, you can put in for a carry permit and get one.  Presumably if it has been more than a year since you were convicted of a drug offense misdemeanor, or the charge was deferred, or you have not been violating probation, you can apply for a permit.

Who supplies these ideas to our legislators?