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Eye On Boise

Senate panel dumps House-passed bill to remove lawmakers’ special gun privileges

Led by Sen. Russ Fulcher, who is running for governor, and Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, a divided Senate State Affairs Committee this morning voted to dump House-passed legislation to remove lawmakers’ special privilege to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Siddoway said, “We are giving up our freedoms, we are giving up our liberties. We have the ability now to carry and I think that most of the citizens realize that we are in a different situation than the average guy on the street.” You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.

Fulcher decried the bill as “political correctness,” and said, “I understand the argument of having elected officials being under the same laws as everyone else, (but) I believe there is a defendable difference in this case. And that is the majority of the citizenry does not put themselves in the same set of circumstances that those of us do who have chosen and who have been privileged to be elected officials. … It’s not the same for me as it is for the 35,000, 40,000 people that are my constituents. This was put in statute for a reason. I believe it was for a good reason.”

Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, said she and members of her family have had their lives threatened, and she asked whether, if the bill passed, she’d have to have a concealed weapon permit on her person when she was out in her horse pasture. Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, said no – because she’s outside city limits. In addition to removing the elected-official exemption, the bill, HB 514, broadens Idaho’s concealed-carry law to clarify that anyone can carry a concealed weapon without a permit outside city limits; that’s now allowed while hunting, fishing, or pursuing other outdoor activities. Lodge said, “I agree with what Sen. Fulcher said. I remember a time in the room across the hall when I couldn’t get out, and I felt very threatened.” She was referring to the Lincoln Auditorium.

Hagedorn said, “I understand your concerns – I have the same concerns. That’s why I have a concealed weapon permit. That’s why I had a concealed weapon permit before I joined the Legislature.” He said, “This has nothing to do with political correctness, in my opinion. It has everything to do with preparation. If you know that you are going into a contentious job as an elected official, it is your responsibility to be prepared to go into that job. And training is appropriate.”

Idahoans must get at least some gun safety training to obtain a concealed weapons permit; elected officials are now exempt from that requirement. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis said he spent much of his quality time with his dad while growing up at church meetings, rather than out hunting, as some other committee members said they had done. “I’m Exhibit A as to why maybe we should encourage people like me to at least go through some additional training and teaching,” Davis said. “I think that for me and people like me, we would benefit by being asked to get appropriate training, just like the other folks out there, and not be granted an additional right to carry merely because of holding an elected office.”

Fulcher said he disagreed. “My vote will not be to willingly give up the privilege that our predecessors granted,” he said. “We do not need to relinquish our privileges.”



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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