Idaho, like most Mountain West states (excluding Colorado), has pretty solid statutes with respect to the Second Amendment. A pair of Republican lawmakers, though, says the state can still improve on its laws by scrapping the “gun-free” status of government buildings that house courtrooms along with other county government offices.
While HB 621 wouldn’t allow firearms to be carried in the courtrooms, some officials who testified in opposition to the bill said it would still put employees and the public at risk.
Ada County Clerk Trent Tripple says his county saved millions of dollars by combining administration and court operations in their current facility that opened in Boise in 2002.
He called the atmosphere an emotional powder keg that could turn dangerous if people were allowed to bring in firearms, even outside courtrooms.
“People are being incarcerated while family members watch. People are being fined. Parents are potentially losing custody of their kids. Ex-spouses are battling over livelihoods,” Tripple said.
“All of those folks are interacting with my employees at the front counter and in the hallways before and after court.”
Supporters, though, pointed out that most of these facilities lack the kind of security measures that would stop irate or deranged individuals from carrying out any act of violence.
Nick Woods, who’s running for a county commission seat in Lewiston, supported the bill. He said establishing gun-free zones is more dangerous than allowing citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
“If a deranged person had the intent to murder anyone in the courthouse, the unarmed security officer won’t be preventing it. In fact, you now have more victims inside the courthouse that are unarmed and could’ve protected themselves otherwise,” Woods said.
Boise State Public Radio reports the House State Affairs committee unanimously “sent the bill to the floor for possible amendments,” which sounds like a positive step. The Idaho Statesman, on the other hand, has a different take on the committee’s actions.
House Bill 621 failed to advance to the House floor for a vote, receiving just two favorable votes in the GOP-controlled committee. Instead, with unanimous support — and over protest from the sponsors — it was moved on by the committee in the House for possible amendment in the waning days of the legislative session.
The legislature’s website shows HB 621 was “reported out of Committee” on Tuesday with a recommendation it be placed on General Orders. That means the bill is eligible to be heard on the House floor, though there’s no guarantee it will be brought up by House leadership. This year’s session was supposed to be gaveled to a close last week, and I’m guessing lawmakers are trying to wrap up business as quickly as they can.
Even if the House does approve the legislation, the Senate would have to concur, and given the potential for amendments it’s really impossible to judge how much support it would receive, or if it would even be worth supporting.
One potential answer would be to allow counties to ban firearms from their administrative buildings with courtrooms located inside, but only if they have truly secure facilities, including armed deputies metal detectors, and no ability for visitors or staff to avoid those measures. Even then, the county should either allow for lawfully-possessed firearms in the parking lots for those facilities or a place for gun-owning visitors to safely store their firearms before going through security.
If counties wanted to spend the money on those security upgrades, great. If not, then these spaces are sensitive in name only, and the right to bear arms shouldn’t be prohibited.
While HB 621 faces an uphill fight in the last few days of the session, the prospects look better for another bill that seeks to put teeth in the state’s preemption law. The Senate has already given its stamp of approval to SB 1430, and the House State Affairs committee endorsed the measure on Tuesday, which means the bill could be heard and passed by the full House today or tomorrow.
It’d be great to see both bills become law this session, but it sounds like some Republican legislators still need some convincing. If they can’t be persuaded to support HB 621 this session, hopefully their constituents can talk some sense into them before the 2027 session begins.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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