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Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet yesterday voted in favor of a bill that would have allowed Coloradans with a concealed weapons permit to travel with their gun to the 48 states that allow concealed weapons. However, the measure was shot down on a 58-39 vote in favor of the measure on the U.S. Senate floor, which was short of the required 60 votes it needed to pass.

Two prominent Colorado gun-control advocates called yesterday’s vote a mixed bag; they were glad the measure was defeated, but upset with the democratic senators for voting in favor of the bill and being supposed “tools of the gun lobby.”

“I’m very frustrated, I block walked for (Udall) and donated to his campaign because I thought he was a reasonable guy and now I don’t think he is being reasonable,” said Eileen McCarron of the Colorado Ceasefire Capitol Fund. “I would like for him to show me better.”

For his part, Udall said he has no reason to believe that the passage of amendment would have raised the risk of criminal acts. 

“It allows Coloradans to travel elsewhere once they have obtained a concealed permit in our state,” he said in a statement. “It does not encourage irresponsible behavior or absolve anyone from criminal prosecution in Colorado if they use a gun in the commission of a crime.”

Since 2003, Colorado has recognized the conceal carry permit of 27 other states. If the amendment passed, it would have allowed individuals with a state permit to carry a concealed weapon in almost every state.

Jim Pfaff of the conservative Americans for Prosperity said it should be a valid right for gun owners to have equal treatment around the United States. He said it’s not fair to penalize law-abiding citizens with concealed carry permits for the acts of criminal behavior. 

“It’s obvious that gun owners bring benefits to society because they tend to be law abiding citizens,” he said. “Gun owners who do it responsibly have a right to protect themselves from criminals and anyone that could potentially threaten them.”

McCarron expressed her doubts that permit holders are “like Sunday school teachers.”   Concealed carry permit holders have killed 18 people in mass murders this year alone, she said.  

“They were law abiding to the point where they were not felons when they got their permit,” she said. “Law abiding is not the same thing as non-felon, and there’s no saying they will stay that way, either.”

According to Reuters, laws vary widely from state to state in regards to issuing permits. Alcohol abuse, sexual abuse and misdemeanor convictions disqualify individuals in some states but not others. Nineteen require gun-safety classes. 

Tom Mauser, a Littleton resident who became involved in gun control after his son was killed in the Columbine Massacre, said he was disappointed with Udall and Bennet because the bill would have allowed people who got their conceal carry permits in states that “give permits away like candy” to come to Colorado.

Meanwhile, Pfaff argued that the right to carry arms is guaranteed by the constitution. 

“Many states and cities are infringing upon our second amendment rights,” he said. “I can’t see how allowing gun owners to be treated the same throughout the country, which is covered by a constitutional amendment that’s applicable to all citizens, can cause harm to someone else.”

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