Regardless of how the Senate vote went down, Sens. Udall and Bennet were wrong to support a concealed-carry bill.
By The Denver Post

Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall bowed to the gun lobby Wednesday - we're not quite sure how else to explain it - and supported a failed measure that would have greatly altered how concealed-carry permits for guns are regulated.

The amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., would have required states to allow concealed- carry permit holders from other states to carry their hidden weapons across state lines.

A Washington Post columnist reported that our two senators waited to vote, talked first with New York Sen. Charles Schumer, then cast "yes" votes - perhaps after being assured the measure wouldn't pass. Both Udall and Bennet denied the claim, with Bennet's spokeswoman saying: "Michael does not ask permission on any of his votes. Michael gave this vote a lot of thought, considered its effect on Colorado, and came to his own decision."

Perhaps that's even worse. Thune's amendment would have created a crazy quilt of standards that allowed the weakest regulations to trump the strongest. That's bad for Colorado.

Thune's measure had nothing to do with the constitutional right to own and bear arms. Rather, it had to do with the privilege of carrying a hidden gun.

To date, the Supreme Court hasn't ruled on whether carrying a hidden weapon is protected by the Constitution, Second Amendment scholar David Kopel tells us. Until it does, concealed-carry permits are considered a privilege - much like hunting licenses, which require completion of a hunter education course.

According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Mark Cousins, who coordinates hunter education, the courses are largely uniform across 50 states and Canada, and the requirements are overseen by an international board.

Surely if the privilege of hunting a duck requires such a rigorous safety and education course, carrying a hidden pistol among the general population deserves similar requirements.

Thune's amendment does raise some relevant questions regarding interstate travel. Colorado and other states are increasingly engaging in interstate compacts that honor outsider concealed-carry permits.

If law-abiding residents of one of the 27 states that are part of Colorado's reciprocity agreement travel here, they can use their permits legally, just as Coloradans with permits can travel freely with concealed weapons in theirs. That's not the case in states such as New York, where it's very difficult to even get a concealed-carry permit. Kopel argues that Thune was taking aim at those heavily restrictive states.

The argument, Kopel says, is those restrictive states are endangering the lives of law-abiding people who carry weapons for self-protection. But Thune didn't address that disparity. Instead, the senator attempted to force states to accept a least-common-denominator set of regulations regarding concealed weapons.

Our senators need to rethink their support of these policies.