Colorado

8 posts
Civil Rights

This Won’t Be Won in the Courts

Last year, the Colorado legislature hastily passed a package of gun regulations. The new laws include a ban on all magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds, and the requirement that all transfers of firearms between individuals go through a gun dealer and be subject to a background check. To say this was an unpopular decision with the voters would be an understatement.

Two sitting state Senators were recalled from office, and a third resigned in the face of an impending recall. The Governor himself seems to regret signing it.

A large group of plaintiffs brought a lawsuit, but the Colorado District Court has ruled that both laws are constitutional [pdf].

(…) the Court finds that although § 18-12-302 burdens the operation of semiautomatic weapons, the burden is not severe because it does not materially reduce the ability of a person to use a semiautomatic firearm for self-defense, nor does it reduce the effectiveness of self-defensive efforts [p.

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Civil Rights

Hickenlooper Goes on the Defensive

The headline reads, “Colorado governor tries to apologize for gun control measures, blames staff, then curses.” That’s actually a pretty good summary of the situation. Video of his statement is here.

You may recall that 55 of the 62 elected sheriffs in Colorado brought a suit to challenge the constitutionality of the gun-control bills Hickenlooper signed last year. You may also recall that state Senators Morse and Giron were ousted in a historic recall election over those bills, and that Senator Hudak resigned just as she was about to be recalled.

Now, when he has to save face, he tries to spread the blame and claim he just didn’t realize what a “kerfuffle” his signature would cause. Really? Does the fact that Michael Bloomberg bent him over a metaphorical barrel to sign them not suggest there might be some friction? Does the fact that the bills passed along strict party lines not imply some dissent?

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Civil Rights

Listen Up, Hippies

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Here comes Captain Buzzkill to harsh your mellow. The state of Colorado claims it’s now legal to purchase, possess, and consume recreational marijuana. In short, you can spark up the bong and the fuzz can’t bust you. That’s the groovy part.

The heavy part, man, is that smoking the reefer is still a violation of federal law. In case you’re confused, that’s the bigger part of government. The one all the way over in Washington, DC. Put your finger on the map and move it to the right. Past Kentucky. A little further. There you go.

By their laws, you’re an unlawful user of a controlled substance. 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(3) prohibits you from owning a firearm [pdf].

Too many numbers and big words? I’ll break it down for you, bro: if you smoke weed, you don’t get to own a gun. Even if your state claims it’s legal to do so.

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Civil Rights

Evie Hudak Resigns in Colorado

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Colorado voters successfully recalled state Senators Morse and Giron back in September (bonus sad clown tears here). While there were other pressing issues, their support for gun control was the most glaring to their constituents.

Despite outspending the NRA and local groups by a wide margin, Michael Bloomberg was unable to protect either of them. His promises (and threats) that gun control was a safe vote suddenly rang very hollow. Following those recalls, Governor Hickenlooper meekly asked gun control groups to stay out of Colorado.

Gun rights supporters then set their sights on Evie Hudak, well known for mocking the concerns of a rape victim and being generally inattentive to her duties in the rush to pass gun legislation.

Rather than face a recall election, Hudak has voluntarily resigned. From her letter:

Most Coloradans believe that the convenience of high-capacity ammunition magazines is less important than saving lives in tragedies like Sandy Hook, Aurora and Columbine.

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Civil Rights

Gun Control: No Longer a Safe Bet

Last month, Colorado State Senators Giron and Morse were recalled from office by a grassroots campaign. The underlying issues were their support for three gun-control bills and their refusal to listen to constituents on the matter. Despite a massive amount of outside financial and political support, neither Senator was able to hold their seat.

A third recall, this one for Denver Senator Evie Hudak, is now building steam. This time around, Governor Hickenlooper is asking Michael Bloomberg and other sympathetic interests to stay out of the fray.

The question is, why? According to Hickenlooper, Coloradans are suspicious of “outside influences.”

A more likely explanation is that he’s realized those “outside influences” aren’t much help and may be a liability. The last round of recalls proved that Michael Bloomberg’s money and clout weren’t as potent a safety net as he’d promised earlier this year.

Bloomberg himself has taken a rather cavalier tone on the issue, stating:

What do you mean we lost?

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Civil Rights

Colorado: The Morning After

Everyone’s scrambling to interpret the consequences of last week’s recall elections in Colorado. Ousted Senator Angela Giron went on CNN last Thursday and tried to play the voter suppression card before Brooke Baldwin cut her off. It was obvious that Giron was utterly blindsided by the results.

She refuses to accept that her vote for hasty and onerous legislation had anything to do with it. Arrogance towards her constituents? Nah. This was a conspiracy by the NRA and the Koch brothers. I kid you not.

Governor Hickenlooper tried to play down the importance of the vote, claiming “outside money coming in is generally not welcome.” Does he mean the ~$350,000 from the NRA to support the recalls or the ~$350,00 coming from Michael Bloomberg to oppose them? I guess the $2 million in other contributions to Morse and Giron doesn’t count as “outside money” either.

Gun owners won because they did the work.

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Civil Rights

Colorado Recall Successful

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Colorado Senator Angela Giron and Senate President John Morse have been successfully recalled in Colorado. Republican Bernie Herpin will be taking Morse’s place. I’m happy to say I called this one wrong.

This recall election was about one thing: gun control. The Colorado legislature capitalized on the emotional impact of the Sandy Hook shooting to push several onerous bills before cooler heads could prevail. HB 1224, restricting ownership of magazines holding more than 15 rounds, led to Magpul pulling their operations out of state and taking $92 million out of the economy.

A bill mandating that nearly all private transfers be processed through licensed gun dealers has also proved problematic. Dealers are not allowed to charge more than $10 to do the paperwork and process the background check. As such, most are refusing to perform the service. The end result? Private transfers are all but impossible.

We’re witnessing a vital piece of history here.

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Civil Rights

Colorado Follows New York

Colorado Governor Hickenlooper has signed all three of the gun-control laws that landed on his desk. The first consequence will be the imminent departure of Magpul Industries from the state. From their FaceBook page:

We have said all along that based on the legal problems and uncertainties in the bill, as well as general principle, we will have no choice but to leave if the Governor signs this into law. We will start our transition out of the state almost immediately, and we will prioritize moving magazine manufacturing operations first.

The bill to which they’re responding is HB 1224 [pdf], which bans all large-capacity magazines.  As defined in the bill:

“Large-Capacity Magazine” means: a fixed or detachable magazine, box, drum, feed strip, or similar device capable of accepting, or that can be readily converted to accept, more than fifteen rounds of ammunition or more than five shotgun shells.

Pump shotguns are excepted so long as the tubular magazine does not exceed a capacity of 28 inches.

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