DENVER -- When lawmakers allowed Coloradans to obtain permits for concealed weapons four years ago, part of the package included a statewide database that tracks who gets them.
That database is supposed to expire this year, and at least four bills are floating in the Colorado General Assembly regarding its future.
State Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, is carrying a bill that would eliminate the database altogether. Other lawmakers have offered bills to the opposite effect.
Another Republican testified this week about a bill that would extend its life.
State Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, told the House Judiciary Committee he would try to toe a very fine line with his measure, House Bill 1174.
"I believe this database is an important piece of being able to maintain our concealed-carry permit laws as they have existed," he told the committee shortly before his bill was approved 7-4 Wednesday. It now heads to the full House for consideration; White doesn't have a Senate sponsor yet.
White was the co-sponsor of the original 2003 measure that allowed Coloradans to carry concealed weapons, and he said the pro-gun lobby has labeled him a sellout for his latest bill.
"I'm being portrayed by some members of the gun community as being a communist," he said after the hearing. "I'm getting a lot of negative vituperation."
White said he owns a gun and supports the right of Coloradans to carry concealed ones. But if the database tied to that goes away, he said, many people who supported the original law might turn against it.
That includes the County Sheriffs of Colorado and the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police.
Weld County Sheriff John Cooke -- whose office is responsible for issuing the permits -- opts not to enter permitees' information into the database. Most counties do use it.
"I don't see the need to put law-abiding citizens in that kind of database," Cooke said. "I am at odds with the Colorado sheriffs."