Group Asks Local Idaho Towns To Lose Gun Laws

BOISE, IDAHO — The Second Amendment shall not be infringed.  And yet it inevitably is.  But instead of getting mad, this group is doing something else: talking to local Idaho towns about it.  According to Boise State Public Radio, the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance is asking towns in Idaho to kindly remove them from the books.

In Idaho, no town is allowed to have gun laws that exceed that of state.  Greg Pruett, the founder of Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, has a spreadsheet full of towns who are not in compliance.  Boise State Public Radio did an interview with Pruett, who has confirmed he’s sent out 58 such notices this year.

Pruett acknowledges that even towns which are supposedly pro-gun still have laws on their books which restrict guns further than the state.  One example, according to Pruett, is Greenleaf, Idaho.   Even though they recently declared themselves “Not a gun-free zone,” he said there were outdated gun restrictions.

Not all of the responses have been positive.  Coeur d’Alene initially didn’t want to take the gun laws prohibiting carrying firearms in a parade because of a dark period of white supremacist activity.  Ketchum and five others have outright said they’re keeping their laws as-is.

Pruett’s efforts to remove local restrictions has far reaching implications for other states.  In North Carolina, for instance, counties and localities can impose extremely strict and arguably unconstitutional limitations on the carriage of firearms – including concealed carry.  If Pruett is successful in removing a majority of local stipulations, that may be the political push to get this started in other states as well.

This issue is as important as constitutional carry, campus carry, and the number of other reforms for gun laws.  Limitations based upon county and municipality can be equally as frustrating to deal with as campus restrictions.

Idaho is a “shall permit” concealed carry state.  It is also very permissible to open carry.  The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance supports constitutional carry and keeps a list of Idaho politicians whom have openly supported or refuted that goal.

In the meantime, concealed and open carriers of Idaho must still content with local restrictions.

Do you think local laws shouldn’t supercede state restrictions?  Tell us about it in the comments section below.