Rep. Rick Youngblood, R-Nampa, is plenty steamed about the demise of his bill, HB 514, in a Senate committee today; the measure would have removed state elected officials’ exemption from the requirement for a concealed weapons permit. “I guess I’m surprised that a senator would say he should maintain special privileges over the people who put him into office,” Youngblood said, referring to comments in the committee by Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian. “Isn’t that kind of odd?”

“It’s time for that change,” Youngblood said. “We’re not better than our voting public.” He said of opponents of the bill, “Why would they be afraid to go get fingerprinted and have a background check? I wonder, is there something there that would be troubling?” The freshman representative noted that he had an array of co-sponsors on the bill including House Speaker Scott Bedke, along with backing from the NRA and the Idaho Sheriffs Association, and called its failure in the Senate State Affairs Committee today “very surprising.” Said Youngblood, “I was very surprised that they would take that position. … I will certainly take a run at it again next year. I just think it’s that important.”