Colorado is interesting because Governor Hickenlooper sincerely sifted through the tangled web of politics to deliver good legislation in Colorado. He signed bills that most gun owners approve of, especially the background checks. He also signed more than these three bills, there was the bill that placed armed police at schools for the purpose of protecting the children.
I think the gun rights people are too extreme when they make their arguments. They don't consider the facts, especially in Colorado. There have been some seriously heinous deaths in Colorado by gun violence.
Some races in 2014 are also to reach a new consensus for the GOP. I think Colorado's governor race is a good example of that. The challenger beat three rivals in the primary. There are less Tea Party candidates running this season. The GOP has a lot riding on these elections just in proving that Tea Party wins have hurt the party and it's brand. If the GOP loses the races where they took the majority in the primaries it will cause Republicans to wonder about their future and the organizations surrounding the GOP. The stalwarts of the party are invested in good outcomes.
March 20, 2013
By Lynn Bartels and Kurtis Lee
Gov. John Hickenlooper (click here) signed three gun bills into law Wednesday, eight months to the day after a gunman opened fire in an Aurora movie theater and four months after he said it was time for Colorado to have a discussion about gun control.
The bill-signing took place in his office at the state Capitol, 22 miles east of where frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody is buried, a tourist attraction in a state noted for its Wild West and independent background.
Later in the morning, as gun-rights advocates and victims' families looked on, Hickenlooper held a news conference in the west foyer to discuss measures he believed can save lives.
One bill limits ammunition magazines to 15 rounds, another requires universal background checks, and the third charges gun customers for the cost of the checks.
Colorado now joins New York as the first states to pass stricter gun laws after the December shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., ignited the national debate over guns.
"This is a fairly significant set of bills that we signed today," Hickenlooper said, adding that none of the measures take anyone's guns away....
