Recall supporters in colorado must gain more than 7,000 signatures by the first week of May to get the recall efforts put on ballots. All residents of Morse’s, Hudak’s and McLachlan’s districts can sign petitions, and all Coloradoans can volunteer or donate to the recalls. Get involved: visit www.coloradorecall.com.
Colorado gun owners, facing a barrage of new anti-gun laws that will negatively impact them, have initiated a recall campaign against three Colorado legislators instrumental in passing those measures.
In blatant disregard for the constitutional rights of the law-abiding residents of Colorado, a laundry list of dangerous anti-gun legislation was passed, and many residents won’t stand for it. The recall process has been initiated for Sens. John Morse and Evie Hudak, and Rep. Mike McLachlan.
Just signed at press time were measures that would ban magazines with a capacity greater than 15 rounds, impose a “gun tax” for a background check when purchasing a firearm, and criminalize the private transfer of a firearm.
Much of the ire toward Sen. Morse, the senate president, was due to an interview he did with Rachel Maddow in which he encouraged other Colorado senators to handle the heavy volume of input from pro-gun constituents the way he does—simply ignore them and vote however you choose.
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa has accused Morse of setting Senate rules to keep sheriffs from around the state from testifying at the Senate hearings because many opposed the gun-ban bills. Maketa also says Morse is punishing sheriffs who opposed the legislation by withholding salary increases. Morse has denied both.
“I have the facts, Sen. Morse. Now it’s time for you to explain your lies and inconsistencies to the citizens,” Maketa said in a blog post on the sheriff’s office website. “Simply admit you changed the rules for your agenda and you are punishing the sheriffs for not supporting your gun bills. Admit you can’t explain your actions with any articulate facts.”
Sen. Hudak, author of a bill to outlaw carry on campus, which has been legal in the state for 15 years, directly insulted campus rape victim Amanda Collins (see feature, p. 40) by telling her “statistics are not on your side” and saying that if Collins had a gun it wouldn’t have stopped the rape. The resulting furor resulted in Hudak recalling that bill.
Rep. McLachlan was a supporter of several of the measures and raised the ire of state gun owners by voting at the last minute for a measure to limit gun magazines to 15 rounds, making Colorado the second state west of the Mississippi to limit magazine size.
“Things have been moving at light speed in order to get where we are currently,” said Rob Harris, who is heading the recall effort for Morse. “Please help us remove a senator who refuses to listen to his constituents and continues to push unconstitutional bills down upon the citizens of this great Western state.”
Passage of the measures has already resulted in a loss of business for the state.
One immediate casualty of the legislation was Magpul Industries, which employs hundreds of Coloradoans and makes the popular pmag, many of which will now be illegal in the state.
“Our company could not, in good conscience, continue to manufacture our products in a state where law-abiding citizens are prohibited from purchasing and owning them, ” said Richard Fitzpatrick, Magpul ceo. “The passage of this bill will do nothing to enhance public safety, but will force us to immediately begin taking our business to another state.”
Another strong reaction came from the Outdoor Channel, which will no longer produce programs in the state.
“The message we will take to our viewers and listeners is that these proposed laws are so dangerous to hunters and any other person, be she a fisherman or a skier who brings a handgun into the state for self-defense, that we cannot recommend hunting, fishing or visiting Colorado,” wrote Outdoor Channel producer Michael Bane. “We reach millions of people and, quite frankly, we have a credibility that Colorado government officials can no longer match.”
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