New pistol permit police-radio database bill sails through committee
South Dakota Gun Owners E-mail
Alert
PO Box 3845, Rapid City, SD 57709
(605) 737-5583
LibertyTeeth@sdgo.org
http://www.SDGO.org
(February 8, 2005) – The House State Affairs committee unanimously passed two bills as a package deal on Monday.
The first in the package was HB 1190, which would allow out-of-state gun owners to carry a concealed handgun here, provided that their state’s permit laws are at least as strict as ours.
The second was the anti-gun database bill, HB 1209, which throws the door wide open to a police operated central registry for permit holders.
The committee room was full of anti-gun politicians and law-enforcement bureaucrats. Many of them have ardently supported the pistol permit police-radio database in the past and have adamantly opposed right to carry bills. But this time they “cautiously accepted” the recognition bill (HB 1190), with the stipulation that they would be back next year with more gun control to “fix” the “problems” it will cause.
They then welcomed the pistol permit police-radio database bill with open arms, making the very same arguments that they have made for the database in the past.
It rapidly became obvious, and was even admitted in committee, that these bills were the result of a backroom deal. David Conway, lobbyist for South Dakota Shooting Sports Assoc., has engineered another compromise with the anti-gun law-enforcement bureaucrats.
We all know that most law-enforcement officers are strongly pro-gun. But these brave men and women who actually work on the streets of South Dakota are often betrayed by the bureaucratic talking heads of their departments.
Unfortunately, they are also sometimes betrayed by gun rights advocates. Mr. Conway claims to have crafted the database bill (HB 1209). He claims that it would only allow law-enforcement to verify the validity of individual permits, and that there is absolutely no possibility of abuse.
In reality, HB 1209 does nothing to protect from misuse, but repeals the current law prohibiting a pistol permit police-radio database and specifically allows law-enforcement to establish one without any real regulation. So don’t be taken in by the smoke and mirrors in this bill (click here for a synopsis of HB 1209).
Once such a database has been established, it will almost certainly be presented to our officers as a means of protection from folks who have a permit. Used in this way, the permit information would mislead our officers by suggesting that if you have a pistol permit, you are a threat.
Bottom line, this database tells our officers that permit holders, as a class, constitute a special threat and need to be treated differently than the general population.
Action:
Please call the House Lobby,
(605) 773-3851 and leave a message for your two Representatives. Your
message can be as simple as “Please vote NO on HB 1209. It isn’t
good for gun owners or law-enforcement.”
You can leave a message for up to two legislators with one call. A legislative page will be there to take your call from 8am to 5pm, CST, and will deliver your messages to the legislators’ desks.
To find both your state Representatives, click on this link, chose “State” and search by ZIP code: http://capwiz.com/gunowners/dbq/officials
You can also use the sample letter below to direct you comments to your Representatives by email.
You can expect the politicians to respond to your call or email with claims that you have been misinformed. If one of them tries to blow smoke in your face, we encourage you to respectfully tell them that the bill clearly allows a database in Section 2, subdivision (5). They will doubtless tell you that the amendments added in committee safeguard against abuse. But the amendments are simply smoke and mirrors. They are cleverly worded, but provide NO actual safeguards. (Once again, you can read a synopsis of the bill here)
Unfortunately, Mr. Conway has obtained an NRA endorsement for HB 1209. Anyone who reads the endorsement will wonder if the NRA has actually read the bill (you can read the NRA endorsement here: http://www.nraila.org/CurrentLegislation/Read.aspx?ID=1345). It appears that they also may be the victims of the misinformation being spread about this new database bill.
---Sample message---
Dear Representative:
I am strongly opposed to HB 1209. It is not good for gun owners and it is not good for law-enforcement.
I urge you not to be taken in by the smoke and mirrors in this bill. First the bill lays down a strict prohibition on any kind of central registry. Then it specifically exempts law-enforcement. Then it reiterates that law-enforcement may use the database in the physical presence of a permit holder but does NOT prohibit an officer from accessing that same database at any other time.
It is undeniable that HB 1209 does indeed provide for the establishment of a police operated central registry for concealed pistol permit holders without protecting the permit system from abuse.
Please vote NO on HB 1209, and please let me know what you intend to do.
Sincerely,
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