Press editorial: Experience shows flaws in SB 1389

Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler thinks he’s right about the latest and greatest concealed carry bill to grace the capitol halls in Boise.

We think he’s wrong.

In a letter to the editor and elsewhere, the sheriff is either accusing Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White of not understanding Senate Bill 1389 or Press veteran reporter Brian Walker of misquoting the chief. But we believe it’s Sheriff Wheeler who is mistaken.

Chief White has not only reviewed the legislation, which would allow state residents 21 years old and up to carry concealed weapons without permits or training, but unlike Wheeler, he has years of personal experience with it. Idaho’s law mimics one in Arizona, where White served as a police officer in Mesa before working his way up to assistant police chief. He hasn’t merely studied the bill’s wording. He’s seen what this bill will actually do.

In a meeting last week with Press editors and reporters, White recalled specific cases where officers’ inability to check suspects for what police believed were concealed weapons led to homicides. Law enforcement is tough enough the way it is. Legislation that would handcuff them further might advance the appearance of stronger Second Amendment rights, but it would do so at increased peril to public safety — the opposite of the bill’s supposed purpose.

Rather than discount the testimony and concerns of numerous chiefs of police, why not first try to understand them? We feel certain that Chief White would be more than happy to share his personal experience with Sheriff Wheeler or any Kootenai County legislators who want to do what’s right and not necessarily what’s popular among an energized bloc of voters in an election year.

In our pro-Second Amendment view, this legislation is well-intended but grossly misses the target. We encourage Kootenai County’s legislators to fully examine the unintended consequences of Senate Bill 1389. Part of that due diligence should include a phone call to Chief White.