Sunday, February 10, 2013

COLORADO EMERGENCY!

UPDATE FROM MAGPUL

In addition to the national battle to protect our firearms rights, many states are currently engaged in their own fights. Here in CO, a state with a strong heritage of firearm and other personal freedoms, we are facing some extreme challenges to firearms rights. We have been engaged in dialogue with legislators here presenting our arguments to stop legislation from even being introduced, but our efforts did not deter those of extreme views. 

After the NRAs visit last week, several anti-freedom bills were introduced by CO legislators, and a very aggressive timeline has been set forth in moving these bills forward. 

The bills include:

HB 1229, Background checks for Gun Transfers–a measure to prohibit private sales between CO residents, and instead require a full FFL transfer, including a 4473.

HB 1228, Payment for Background Checks for Gun Transfers– a measure that would require CO residents to pay for the back logged state-run CBI system (currently taking 3 times the federally mandated wait time for checks to occur) instead of using the free federal NICS checks. 

And finally, HB 1224, Prohibiting Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines–a measure that bans the possession, sale, or transfer of magazines over 10 round capacity. The measures and stipulations in this bill would deprive CO residents of the value of their private property by prohibiting the sale or transfer of all magazines over 10 rounds. This bill would also prohibit manufacture of magazines greater than 10 rounds for commercial sale out of the state, and place restrictions on the manufacture of military and law enforcement magazines that would cripple production.

We’d like to ask all CO residents to please contact your state legislators and the members of the Judiciary Committee and urge them to kill these measures in committee, and to vote NO if they reach the floor. 

We also ask you to show your support for the 2nd Amendment at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb 12, for the magazine ban committee hearing and Wednesday, Feb 13, for the hearing on the other measures. 

Due to the highly restrictive language in HB 1224, if passed, and we remained here, this measure would require us to cease PMAG production on July 1, 2013. In short, Magpul would be unable to remain in business as a CO company, and the over 200 jobs for direct employees and nearly 700 jobs at our subcontractors and suppliers would pick up and leave CO. 

Due to the structure of our operations, this would be entirely possible, hopefully without significant disruption to production. The legislators drafting these measures do so in spite of the fact that nothing they are proposing will do anything to even marginally improve public safety in CO, and in fact, will leave law-abiding CO residents less able to defend themselves, strip away rights and property from residents who have done nothing wrong, and send nearly 1000 jobs and millions in tax revenue out of the state.

We like CO, we want to continue to operate in CO, but most of all, we want CO to remain FREE. Please help us in this fight, and let your voices be heard! We have included the contact information for the House Judiciary committee for your convenience: 

House Judiciary Committee Rep. Daniel Kagan, Chair: 303-866-2921, repkagan@gmail.com 
Rep. Pete Lee, Vice Chair: 303-866-2932, pete.lee.house@state.co.us 
Rep. John Buckner: 303-866-2944, john.buckner.house@state.co.us 
Rep. Lois Court: 303-866-2967, lois.court.house@state.co.us 
Rep. Bob Gardner, 303-866-2191, bob.gardner.house@state.co.us 
Rep. Polly Lawrence, 303-866-2935, polly.lawrence.house@state.co.us 
Rep. Mike McLachlan, 303-866-2914, mike.mclachlan.house@state.co.us 
Rep. Rep Carole Murray, 303-866-2948, murrayhouse45@gmail.com 
Rep. Brittany Pettersen, 303-866-2939, brittany.pettersen.house@state.co.us 
Rep. Joseph Salazar, 303-866-2918, joseph.salazar.house@state.co.us 
Rep. Jared Wright, 303-866-2583, jared.wright.house@state.co.us
_______________________________

I wish I had better news...after a day at the Colorado Legislature, with a short break to address the pro-Second Amendment demonstration on the Capitol steps, I can only report that we are in desperate fight for our Second Amendment rights — a fight we may well lose!

The 4 bills revealed last week — you can read them here — sole purpose is to trip up or punish law-abiding gun owners. Even the President of the Colorado Senate, Democrat John Morse from Colorado Springs, said in an interview 2 weeks ago that:
...Senate President John Morse (D-Colo. Springs) proclaimed his belief that additional background checks and a ban on high capacity magazines would do little to limit gun violence, stepping on a key message coming from supporters of gun control in his own party. “How does a limit on high-capacity magazines reduce violence?” Morse asked rhetorically in the interview...
The purpose of the bills is nothing more than a flat out attack on the Second Amendment by making it nearly impossible for normal citizens not to violate some aspect of the proposed legislation.

Consider the magazine capacity law proposed by Rep. Rhonda Fields (D, Aurora) even changes the very nature of American law...instead of "innocent until proven guilty," the presumption of innocence, a gun owner found to be in possession of a magazine with a capacity greater than 10 is presumed to be guilty and must provide evidence proving he or she is not guilty, that is, was in possession of the magazine prior to the date of the legislation. There are maybe 10-15 million magazines with a capacity greater than 10 legally in the hands of Colorado gun owners right now...how many of us have kept meticulous records on those magazines? Why should we have...they are legal products!

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW: WRITE YOUR STATE CONGRESSPEOPLE, EVEN IF THEY ARE ANTIGUN ZEALOTS! 

I say "write" as in "on paper," then fax the letters to their offices. If you do not have access to a fax machine, email the letter, then send the printed copy by US Mail. If you can, call the offices of your representatives and them them to OPPOSE this attack on our rights!

See the NRA ILA alert from this weekend...these bills are being fast-tracked through committee, trying to get them on the floor and voted into law before Coloradans have a chance to make their opposition known. If you can be in Denver next week, please join my Sweetie and I in testifying against these nightmare laws.

It's time to stand, people!

Here is the NRA-ILA Action Alert from Saturday:
We need you to come to the state Capitol on Tuesday, February 12 and Wednesday, February 13 to show your opposition and speak against the following anti-gun bills: 
On Tuesday, February 12, House Bill 13-1224 and House Bill 13-1229 are scheduled to be heard in the House Judiciary Committee in the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol upon adjournment of the House. HB13-1224, sponsored by state Representative Rhonda Fields (D-42), would ban magazines that hold more than ten rounds. HB13-1229, sponsored by state Representatives Rhonda Fields and Beth McCann (D-8), would prohibit and criminalize the private transfer of firearms.  
On Wednesday, February 13 House Bill 13-1226 will be heard by the House Education Committee upon adjournment in the Old Supreme Court Chamber, and House Bill 13-1228 will be heard by the House Finance Committee at 1:30 pm in the Old Supreme Court Chamber. HB13-1226, sponsored by state Representative Clare Levy (D-13), would repeal the current right to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense on a college or university campus. HB13-1228, sponsored by state Representative Lois Court (D-6), would require law-abiding citizens to pay a fee (or gun tax) for a background check when purchasing a firearm. 
We need you to come to the state Capitol on Tuesday, February 12 and Wednesday, February 13 to tell state legislators, especially those serving on these committees, to vote NO on HB13-1224, HB13-1226, HB13-1228 and HB13-1229. Without your direct help this next week, these anti-gun legislators will steal away your Second Amendment rights! Please come to the state Capitol in Denver no later than 9:00 am to respectfully protect your rights. 
For more information about testifying at the state Capitol, please click here. If you are unable to attend these important public hearings, it is imperative that you contact your state legislators TODAY and express your opposition to these anti-gun measures. For help identifying your elected state officials and their contact information, please click here.

IMPORTANT UPDATE! 

NSSF has sent out an alert on the capacity cap bill that will be before the House Judiciary Committee:
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is urging all sportsmen, hunters and gun owners to attend Tuesday's public hearing to be held at the State Capitol building in the Old Supreme Court Chambers which could be adjourned as early as 9 am. NSSF urges Colorado citizens to contact their state representative, senator and all members of the House Judiciary Committee immediately, urging them to oppose this magazine ban.  
This Tuesday might be the only chance for your voice to be heard before legislators push through legislation that will seriously affect not only your Second Amendment rights, but also the magazines you use in your rifles and handguns. Colorado manufacturers will be directly affected, as well, resulting in the loss of good paying jobs and badly needed tax revenue to the state.
The NSSF alert also lists the names and email addresses of all the legislators on the Judiciary Committee...if you can't be there, these people need to hear from you NOW! I would urge you to give special attention to Vice Chair Rep. Pete Lee and Rep. Mike McLachian.

24 comments:

JohnBrantuk said...

Michael, we feel for you. As a life-long citizen of the state of California, I truly fear for your (and what's left of) my gun rights.

Publicola said...

Mr. Bane,
I've got posts on each of these bills up over at my place with some observations.

It does say in the mag ban bill that if someone "asserts" they had the mags pre-ban then the burden of proof was on the prosecution to prove otherwise, so "guilty until proven innocent" isn't quite right - course that's the way the damned Baby Brady background check (as amended) here works...

An interesting point is that, unless "transfer" is defined elsewhere, then it'd simply cover an temporary exchange. As in if I person A handed person B a mag to hold momentarily (even if the mag was internal to the firearm). There's an exemption for organized shooting ranges & for defense of life & limb, but if person A hands person B a mag (or firearm with such a mag) whilst shooting on public land, or just chillin inside one's home, that's an illegal transfer (person A) & illegal possession (person B).

Also, the universal background check bill caps what gun stores can charge to run this check at $10. Meanwhile the background check tax bill says the CBI can charge whatever it estimates to be the real & incidental costs of running the program - so if they peg it at $10.25... know any gun stores who'll take a 25 cent hit to run a check? I don't either.

Oh, & the CBI can have mag makers add stuff to be marked on each mag, so if some smart ass decides Magpul has to engrave the complete text of War & Peace on each mag then it's law.

But any way ya slice it it's nothing but nastiness. They've been knocking down pro-gun bills on committee like it's fashionable. & Morse is an elitist little [multiple expletives deleted] who wants to decrease the number of guns (cause he thinks that'll lead to less shootings). I think if anything is going to be blocked it'll be up to the house, but I'm not positive of the pro-gun dem make up over there.

In any event, I'm afraid things are going to be interesting around here. & I hate interesting..

Anonymous said...

MANY thanks for the heads up Michael.
I have to admit that I am as shocked as anyone to hear that things have become so dire so quickly.

I'll be writing, faxing, phoning & emailing the rest of the afternoon - and will do EVERYTHING in my power to be there TUE-WED. I would encourage anyone and everyone who gives a damn about their 2nd amendment rights to do the same.

It is ON people. LET'S GET BUSY!

Gunny

Anonymous said...

For those having cable Internet like I do, you can sign up very inexpensively at www.nextivafax.com/ for an online FAX service. I researched a *bunch* of them and this seemed the best fit for my wallet. E-mails get deleted, voicemails get erased but, at least with paper, they have to pick them up and carry them to the shredder (thus causing some degree of irritation). Being in Illinois (I know, I know), I've been FAXing my heart out since I got this service. Regardless, I call, send E-mails, and set up meetings with my representatives as often as I can -- and now, I FAX too. Just sharing the information, Mr. Bane.

Anonymous said...

Letters written, emailed, and printed for the post office tomorrow.

Monty said...

Well Michael if Colorado go's to hell as it seems to be, your welcome here in Montana. There are allot of great places to build you new secret hidden bunker up here.
Monty,

nj larry said...

Hey MB you are always welcome to move East to the free states of NJ and NY. It is practically paradise. Seven rounds and none of those hollow point bollits. Plus Gov Cuomo has convinced me that nobody needs 10 rounds to kill a deer. And he should know cause he owns a Remington shotgun. This is the land of gun freedom!

DamDoc said...

elections have consequences, and those of you who believed the democrats didnt want to screw you, well... taste it. And those who squandered their vote one some unicorn party.. its your fault too. learn from the lesson, lets have a clean sweep in 2014. No f'in excuses.

Anonymous said...

I am shocked that RMGO hasn't put out a bulletin on this yet. Need to mobilize as many as possible NOW!

Grizz

BBJohnnyT said...

Best of luck. As JohnBrantuk said, I feel for you, as I'm also a life-long resident of CA. As you know, we've been living under these very restrictions for years. Maybe if we got better nationwide help back when we were fighting our battles, instead of a lot of "boy, I'm glad I don't live in your state" responses, this wouldn't be spreading like a virus. Nevertheless, I'll email every one of your reps even though I don't live there. We MUST stick together and fight this virus everywhere.

Anonymous said...

Michael,

Move out of the People's Republik of Colorado and come to Free America - Alaska!!

Yog

William said...

Well said DamDoc. The GOP frustrates the hell out of me but it is our only real hope to stem the tide of (not so creeping) Socialism being sold by the Democrats. I wish there was a viable third party, if for no other reason than to keep the Republicans' course true. But that's a pipe dream.

Anonymous said...

Peaking across at the rabbit hole.

Anonymous said...

MB - do you have a source for names and email addresses for the House Education Committee? I looked it up on colorado.gov but the names listed do not match the names on the linked pages to contract them. Haven't checked the other committee out yet.

Letters for 1224 and 1229 written and sent, working on the other two now.
Grizz

Jim F said...

We've got the same level of anti in proposed bills here in MN, and more! CO is not isolated, this is in MN, too, and I'm sure other states. Wake up, get up to speed, and get in your legislators faces proactively!

clark myers said...

Any meetup suggestions for Tuesday and Wednesday? Parking suggestions, light rail commuting or times or places or even breakfast and convoy or light rail to proceed to the Capital?

Anonymous said...

For those interested, I found accurate names and emails for the house committees on Education and finance. The lists can be found on MBs thread on the SASS wire at the following link.
http://sassnet.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=200844

Stu Nod said...

Don't leave the state.

FIGHT.

Sheesh.

Michael, I am left wondering how/why the hoplophbes are hitting your formerly free state so hard?

Obake said...

I do not live in Colorado. Is there anything I can do to be supportive from outside the state?

Anonymous said...

You want to live in Latin America but want to keep your guns? Who are you kidding? Keep on licking republican zionist boots Mikie. Soon you will wake up and the whole country will be like CO.

Unknown said...

Hey Michael - you have a great show and podcast. I am watching this at http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22581034/colorado-legislature-consider-three-more-gun-bills-wednesday

FEE is just another TAX that will never go away, right - keep up the great work.
Mark in Nebraska

Anonymous said...

To Obake @ 7:17 P. M.;

Anybody can send contributions to active Congressmen and Congresswomen in Colorado, or in any other state. You don't have to live there. Use the info' found on Michael's links.

If you aren't member of the NRA, then join. If you're already an NRA member, then send in additional contributions. Join and support other active and influential organizations that support the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Last, do all of these things in your own state, to prevent similar things from getting out of control.

Life Member

Obake said...

Thanks for the heads up Life Member!

I have all of the above covered shy of sending donations to politicians within Colorado.

It might be a better use of funds at this point to join or donate to a local pro-gun group in Colorado. Then back pro-gun candidates in the next round of elections. I will do some research on that tomorrow.

If anyone has any other ideas please share them as this is just one example of fights that are yet to come.

It would be great if the pro-gun community got in the habit of supporting each other across state lines like liberals do with their politics.

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