Colorado Rep. leaves loaded gun in room after debate on concealed handgun permits

DENVER, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- After firing off during a debate about concealed handgun permits in a committee room of the state Capitol, a Colorado representative had something slip his mind -- the loaded handgun he had stashed under his seat.

Colorado Rep. Jared Wright left a black canvas bag containing a loaded firearm under his seat and left the room where the House Local Government committee had been debating.

The lawmaker who sits next to him, Rep. Jonathan Singer, found it. “I just immediately notified the Sergeant at Arms and soon we realized it was Jared’s bag,” Singer told the Denver Post.

Although state law prohibits carrying a gun in the Capitol “without legal authority” Wright has the right to pack heat as a peace officer after serving in the Fruita Police Department from 2007 until 2011.

“I feel it’s my duty to be a first responder wherever I am at,” Wright said. “That’s why I carry it.”

The office of Gov. John Hickenlooper contacted Wright about the incident and he consented to stop carrying the gun in the building and “agreed to be more careful” with the firearm.

[The Denver Post]