From the WSJ Opinion Archives
THE WESTERN FRONT
Wellington's Beef
Denver's mayor takes a stand against gun rights.
BROOMFIELD, Colo.--Last month cops in this Denver suburb arrested Jerry Aaron Robinson for allegedly running a methamphetamine lab out of his home and not registering as a sex offender. The bust was shocking. Along with being a suspected drug lab, the house was also used as a day-care facility; cops reportedly found five children in the building along with Mr. Robinson. The youngest, an infant, was taken into protective custody, the other four released in the care of their parents.
Plenty of bad things happen in even seemingly quiet, safe neighborhoods. That's one reason why Colorado just enacted a statute that makes it easier for law-abiding citizens to get a permit to carry a concealed pistol. The law--which is similar to the laws in more than two dozen other "shall issue" states--went into effect Friday and requires local governments to issue a pistol permit to any applicant who passes a criminal background check.
The law is so far proving popular among everyone but liberal politicians. In nearby Adams County some 4,000 people showed up and applied for permits. Overwhelmed local officials quickly announced plans to curtail the hours they'd accept applications and to fingerprint prospective applicants. The local sheriff was shocked by the turnout. He told the Denver Post that there was little reason for a tidal wave of applicants because he routinely granted pistol permits in the past, unless the person failed the background check.
Denver's Mayor Wellington Webb, however, is unfazed by the move toward self-protection. He quickly filed a lawsuit against Gov. Bill Owens and the state in hope of getting the new gun law tossed out. He claims that the law violates Denver's authority to make its own laws. Political leaders in more than two dozen suburban Denver municipalities are considering joining his suit.
Perhaps Mr. Webb and the other politicians lining up behind this suit should take a ride along with the police who have to deal with dangerous criminals every day. They might see the need for self-protection. If the policeman who shows them around is anything like my older brother Henry--who was a cop in Broomfield for five years before leaving the force recently to become a lawyer--the mayor will see that often crime is much more prevalent than it appears.
I get such a ride-along every time I visit my brother. Just last week, after several days of hard fishing in the Rocky Mountains, we stopped at a local car wash to hose off the truck. As we pulled out, Henry nonchalantly told me of the death of a man who'd hanged himself with a piece of rope and a ladder in the utility closet of the car wash. I doubt the woman cleaning her Corvette in the bay next to us had any idea what had once happened there.
Henry has a sharp eye and a clear memory for criminal behavior, so he had a story for nearly everywhere we went in Broomfield. Usually it was just a one-liner: "I arrested a guy in there," he said while pointing at a small store. Sometimes he'd add "for fraud," mention how the criminal had preyed on unsuspecting victims or recount the criminal turning violent when the cops went to slap the cuffs on him.
Sometimes his stories were very dramatic. One he recalled as we drove past a gas station started out with a man nearly smacking his car into the gas pump as he sped through the parking lot. The man was intoxicated and exceeding 90 miles per hour on streets with speed limits of 25 and 35 mph. As it turns out, it was Henry's day off and he happened to be riding by with his wife behind the wheel. He grabbed his cell phone, called the police and followed the driver, relaying his movements to on-duty cops through a dispatcher.
The chase ended at the man's house. He turned out to be a skinny, middle aged habitual drug user--"a meth freak" in cop speak--who tried to pick a fight with the police. The cops soon figured out that the man had a warrant out for his arrest. He was also driving on a revoked license. His driving record was so bad that a judge already deemed him a danger to society and placed him in a small category of traffic offenders who face felony prosecution simply for getting behind the wheel. He was arrested as he stood, shirtless, in front of his children.
Outside of the Denver area, in the small towns scattered through the Rocky Mountains, it's common to see guns. Hikers and even fishermen often carry pistols as they head into wilderness areas. Returning home safely may depend on being able to dispatch a wild animal. But statistically, the animals most of us need to worry about walk on two legs.
Broomfield is a nice and relatively safe place to raise children. But there's no shortage of bad people out there, and living in a well-to-do suburb doesn't necessarily protect law-abiding citizens from them. The suburbs have their share of murders, rapes and other violent crimes. Mayor Webb should know all of this already, for his city is even worse. As Sunday's Denver Post pointed out, murder and gang violence in that city are on the rise. How could anyone object to allowing law-abiding citizens, who've passed a background check, protect themselves?
Mr. Miniter is assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com. His column appears Tuesdays.
