Open letter to Governor Hickenlooper
Dear sir,
As it is now known that you have signed into law three new pieces of legislation curtailing my civil rights I would like to know exactly how these laws are to be enforced so that I might avoid the pitfalls of unintentional violation in which many will be ensnared. I address my questions to you sir, since I am sure that you, as a public servant sworn to uphold both the US and Colorado constitutions would never endorse a law without fully understanding all of its ramifications.
I understand that if I were to purchase a firearm from my neighbor I will now be required to undergo a CBI background check. To accomplish this I understand that both I and my neighbor must drive 45 miles to find a gun store and hope that licensed dealer is willing to conduct the check for me and that he has time in his busy schedule to do that. I also understand that this licensed dealer will be entitled to charge a fee for his time in conducting the check and maintaining the records there of. I believe that fee commonly varies among dealers between 15 to 40 dollars in addition to the 10 dollars payable to CBI, thus adding 25 to 50 dollars onto the agreed price of the gun. I also understand that CBI has a considerable backlog of checks pending and thus we might have to wait and return again to the dealer after several days to a week when the check has finally been completed by CBI.
My first question is, who is liable under this law? Is it the buyer or the seller or both? If it is somehow learned that a firearm was transferred without a background check who goes to jail?
Is every FFL dealer required to conduct checks for private transactions or can he refuse to check any buyers not purchasing from his own inventory?
Since this is an imposition on the dealer's time under what authority can you or the legislature require a dealer to conduct checks if he chooses not to do so.
Is there a limit on the fee a dealer can charge for conducting these checks?
It appears to me that these fees and impositions on our time represent a penalty imposed on those who obey the law and thus an incentive to ignore the law. How is a law enforcement officer to know if a private transaction was conducted before or after the law took effect or for that matter how is he to know any transaction ever occurred at all if neither party reports it?
Since it appears that compliance with this requirement is pretty much voluntary just how does this enhance public safety to impose restriction and financial penalties on the law abiding when those who choose to ignore the law can do so with near impunity?
Thank You,
