April 11, 2013 01:37 PM UTC

Did Larimer County Sheriff Smith forsake the truth after pressure from Rocky Mountain Gun Owners?

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• by: Jason Salzman

(To protect, serve, and kowtow? Promoted by Colorado Pols)

In 2010, when he was running for Sheriff of Larimer County, Justin Smith answered a "candidate questionnaire" from Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

It posed 10 questions for candidates running for the office of sheriff, and it advised that "failure to answer this survey" would be viewed with "suspicion by those who hold their Constitutional rights in high regard."

But Smith, who's now serving as Larimer County Sheriff, decided not to answer question number 9 because, it appears, he thought it was factually inaccurate.

9. Current law allows sheriffs to enter concealed carry permit holders into a statewide criminal database (CCIC), right next to rapists and murderers. Though lists of permit holders are maintained by the issuing sheriff and easily verified by that department, this database is being used to harass law-abiding citizens in routine traffic stops. This policy is at the discretion of the elected sheriff. Will you enter concealed carry permit holders in a statewide criminal database?

Smith elected not to answer "yes" or "no," as requested by RMGO, but instead offered a hand-written reply:

"All CCW applicants are kept in the CBI system upon submission of fingerprints by the sheriff CRS-18-12-208. The CCIC field for CCW holders is not a 'criminal' database. I will continue to enter CCW permit holderes into the system for real-time verification of the" [BigMedia Note to Readers: Smith did not finish this sentence.]

Smith's answers to the RMGO candidate survey were apparently not well received RMGO honchos, because RMGO did not endorse Smith in his primary campaign. 

(In contrast, Weld Country Sheriff John Cooke answered question 9 surely pleased RMGO by checking "no" and writing, "Never have. Never will.")

But after Smith won the primary in his race to be sheriff of Larimer County, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners endorsed him over the Democrat and an independent candidate.

In its endorsement of Smith, RMGO claimed to have somehow convinced Smith to change his position and not to enter the names of concealed-carry permit holders into the CBI database.

According to Smith's campaign website, RMGO wrote:

“Though we endorsed a different candidate in the primary election, Justin Smith has re-evaluated his position on a number of key gun issues,” said Dudley Brown, RMGO PAC Director. “Justin has changed his position on the entry of concealed carry permit holders into the statewide CBI database and has promised to purge existing permit holders from that system upon taking office.”

“RMGO members and gun activists in Larimer County should pat themselves on the back for convincing Justin Smith on these key issues, especially the database concern,” Brown said. “This is a huge victory for right-to-carry advocates, and those concerned with freedom in general.” [BigMedia emphasis]

“With that in mind, Justin re-answered our candidate survey, and earned gun owners’ support. With this endorsement, Justin Smith is certain to be the next sheriff in Larimer County.”

Phone calls and an email to Smith, asking how RMGO convinced him to switch his position on question 9, given that his initial response to the question was factually correct, were not returned.

Maybe there's a reporter out there who might have better luck tracking down Smith, who's become a leading opponent of gun-safety laws.

With Rocky Mountain Gun Owners playing such a prominent role in the legislative and the upcoming legal fight against gun-safety legislation, it's in the public interest to try to illuminate how the organization operates in the electoral world.