A Colorado voter initiative is seeking to let voters decide whether or not cannabis consumers should be allowed to qualify for concealed carry firearm permits under state law, according to a Denver7 report.
Currently, state sheriffs are prohibited from issuing the permits to anyone who would be disqualified under federal law, which still recognizes cannabis as a prohibited, Schedule I substance. The initiative seeks to update state laws so that the lawful use of cannabis does not stymie one’s application for a concealed carry permit.
Guns for Everyone co-founder Edgar Antillon said he considers the proposal a “freedom issue.”
“It’s one of those silly things that has been going on for a while. We’ve legalized marijuana, but we don’t give [users] the ability to defend themselves. Alcohol users get to defend themselves. Why not marijuana users?” – Antillon, via Denver7
The initiative, which is being championed by a pro-gun advocacy group called Guns for Everyone, appeared before the Colorado Legislative Council Staff on Tuesday to determine whether the proposal satisfies the single-issue requirement for Colorado voter ballot initiatives.
The initiative’s next hurdle will be whether it is accepted and titled by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, at which point organizers would be cleared to begin collecting the required 125,000 signatures to put the issue before voters.
The federal criminalization of gun ownership by anyone who uses federally-illegal drugs of any kind, including cannabis purchased legally under state law, has recently come under scrutiny on the national stage via criminal charges that were filed against Hunter Biden pertaining to his gun ownership in a period of time when he admitted to taking drugs regularly. Though Biden is accused of owning a firearm while using crack cocaine, his lawyers referenced cannabis legalization in their argument that his prosecution is “unconstitutional.”
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