House State Affairs Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, made an unusual statement on the House floor today. He said he and other lawmakers are being harassed by supporters of the “constitutional carry” bill to repeal Idaho’s concealed weapon permit law. “We have arrived at a time in our society when we achieve new highs and extremely low lows. And I, with some trepidation, I stand here today to call out those individuals who are singling out members of this body, including yours truly, for an action for which they have absolutely no understanding. And the new low is, I suppose, that they are publishing mine and some other members of the body’s home phone numbers, where we are not at this time, and harassing our family members.”

“Mr. Speaker, there is no more avid supporter of the 2^nd Amendment than this gentleman and many others in this body, and for anyone to insinuate that I don’t understand the Constitution of the United States or my constitutional responsibilities in this body is far out of line,” Loertscher declared. “Mr. Speaker, I know that you also are a target of these kinds of things, as many of us are here. I would hope that people of this state would recognize that this is not the way to win friends and influence people. We are working on this issue desperately. And finding solutions. And, Mr. Speaker, this is way too important of an issue for us to simply do something in haste. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I would ask people of this state, and those who are calling my home from out of state, to cease and desist, because this is not the way that we do business here, and it’s time that the people of this country understand that.”