I've been pondering a phrase on the El Paso County (CO) Sheriff's web page pertaining to CCW applications.
[Applicant] Must successfully complete a background investigation which includes, but is not limited to, information obtained from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC), Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), etc.
That phrase set off some mental alarm bells, so I called the CCW office for details.
I introduced myself, and stated that I was concerned about the language noted above. The lady wanted to know what the problem was.
"Well, it's pretty vague. Phrases like 'Not limited to, and et cetera' make me uneasy. Can you tell me *exactly* what you look for?"
"Um, why do you want to know?"
"If I'm giving someone permission to poke around in my private life, I want to know what they plan to do. That's reasonable, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," she said. "All we look at is your criminal history."
"That's it? No credit check or personal refs or anything like that?"
"Nope."
"Great. Not that criminals go through the system anyway," I opined.
"Actually, they do come through here sometimes."
"Come again?"
"Yeah, I guess they think we don't check their arrests or warrants."
"Idiots."
"You got it," she said, laughing. "That's why I probably sounded irritated when you asked; some people who can't legally own guns try to get us to sign off on them, and they usually ask what we look for when they do."
Note that I'm still philosophically opposed to concealed-carry permits. CCW is referred to as a "privilege" in the application, and I can't see bribing the Sheriff to let me exercise my right to self-defense. So, open carry is still my choice.
------------------
Ignorance is takin' over,
We gotta take the power back.
--Rage Against The Machine
[Applicant] Must successfully complete a background investigation which includes, but is not limited to, information obtained from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC), Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), etc.
That phrase set off some mental alarm bells, so I called the CCW office for details.
I introduced myself, and stated that I was concerned about the language noted above. The lady wanted to know what the problem was.
"Well, it's pretty vague. Phrases like 'Not limited to, and et cetera' make me uneasy. Can you tell me *exactly* what you look for?"
"Um, why do you want to know?"
"If I'm giving someone permission to poke around in my private life, I want to know what they plan to do. That's reasonable, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," she said. "All we look at is your criminal history."
"That's it? No credit check or personal refs or anything like that?"
"Nope."
"Great. Not that criminals go through the system anyway," I opined.
"Actually, they do come through here sometimes."
"Come again?"
"Yeah, I guess they think we don't check their arrests or warrants."
"Idiots."
"You got it," she said, laughing. "That's why I probably sounded irritated when you asked; some people who can't legally own guns try to get us to sign off on them, and they usually ask what we look for when they do."
Note that I'm still philosophically opposed to concealed-carry permits. CCW is referred to as a "privilege" in the application, and I can't see bribing the Sheriff to let me exercise my right to self-defense. So, open carry is still my choice.
------------------
Ignorance is takin' over,
We gotta take the power back.
--Rage Against The Machine