“With public
sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed”
The above quote, from Abraham Lincoln, is Governor Hickenlooper’s favorite quote, per his own website:
That
largely describes John’s governing approach as he tackles difficult
problems in a bottom-up – and not a top-down – way. It also means
gathering stakeholders with diverse opinions, listening and then
collaborating to find common ground.
Public sentiment in Colorado happens to be largely against the gun control bills Hickenlooper is slated to sign into law, Wednesday:
Two-thirds of Coloradans (65%) say these new gun control laws won’t
reduce crime or make the state any safer, and nearly half (48%) of
voters say they would be less likely to vote for their State Senator if
he or she supports gun control bills.
But that doesn’t matter to Governor Hickenlooper. Nor does the fact that state’s sheriffs publicly pummeled the gun control legislation in testimony before the State Senate. Colorado sheriffs say they will not enforce state gun control laws if enacted.
Last week, Kyle Clark and Brandon Rittiman of KUSA-TV exposed a huge problem with the magazine ban.
Since convertible magazines are being banned, this would have the effect
of banning almost ALL guns in Colorado because almost all gun mags are
convertible.
Magpul Industries released a statement vowing to leave the state if the bill is signed into law:
Apparently Gov Hickenlooper has announced that
he will sign HB 1224 on Wednesday. We were asked for our reaction, and
here is what we said:
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. We expect the first
PMAGs to be made outside CO within 30 days of the signing, with the rest
to follow in phases.
But enough about public sentiment. The White House needed at least one victory outside of the Northeast in its no holds barred push for sweeping gun control legislation across the
country, and Hickenlooper is delivering.
The Denver Post reported:
Despite a super-sized campaign to get the governor to veto the gun
bills, on Wednesday Hickenlooper will sign three gun bills into law: House Bill 1224 limits ammunition magazines to 15 rounds; House Bill 1228 requires gun customers to pay for the costs of their own background checks; and House Bill 1229 requires universal background checks.
Senate Republicans in Colorado accuse Hickenlooper of following New York’s lead in this assault on the Second Amendment, and they’ve doctored a New York flag in their Capitol office to illustrate their point.
The coat of arms, though now bears new faces. Hickenlooper’s face is on
Liberty, the figure with the Revolutionary imagery of a Phrygian cap
raised on a pole. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s face is imposed on the figure on the right, the blindfold Justice.
Hickenlooper is up for reelection in 2014.
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