Well, with the recent primary election dust settling and the buzz about the SCOTUS decisions that have come down, somehow I missed this news earlier.

I haven't had a chance to read the ruling yet, but for those interested, there is a link to it in the article.

http://www.denverpost.com/news...iting-gun-ammunition

Federal Judge Upholds Colorado Law Limiting Gun Ammunition

By Kirk Mitchell and John Aguilar
The Denver Post

POSTED: 06/26/2014 03:10:37 PM MDT
UPDATED: 06/26/2014 11:58:58 PM MDT

A federal judge on Thursday upheld Colorado's new gun-control laws that mandated background checks for all gun sales and limited the capacity of ammunition magazines to no more than 15 rounds.

U.S. District Chief Judge Marcia Krieger issued her 50-page ruling on the 2013 laws after a two-week civil trial in late March and early April in Denver.

The lawsuit was originally filed by plaintiffs including sheriffs, gun shops, outfitters and shooting ranges. Krieger ruled last year that the sheriffs could not sue the state in their official capacities but they could join the lawsuit as private citizens.

Krieger determined that the plaintiffs lacked standing in their lawsuit.

DOCUMENT: Read the judge's decision on Colorado gun laws.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers' office represented defendant Gov. John Hickenlooper, who signed bills into law last year that expanded background checks and created ammunition magazine limits.

"Like Judge Krieger, the Colorado Attorney General's Office has never asserted that the laws in question are good, wise or sound policy. As it does in all cases, the AG's Office has fulfilled its responsibility to defend the constitutionality of the Colorado law in question," Suthers said in a news release.

"The Attorney General's Office fully expects the case to be appealed and looks forward to final resolution of the issues as soon as possible."

Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Thornton, who was the Senate sponsor of the bill, praised the judge's decision.

"This is public safety. Having people have to pause to reload saves lives," Hodge said. "These school shooters, for the most part, did not know how to reload their weapons, so this limit on large-capacity magazines is good."

Plaintiffs claimed the new laws impinged on their right to keep and bear arms. They promised a new legal challenge in the 10th Circuit Court.

"While we respect the judge's ruling today, we believe that it is plainly wrong on the law and on the facts," Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said at a Denver press conference Thursday. "John Hickenlooper knows that the (former New York City Mayor Michael) Bloomberg anti-gun laws are a failure."

Cooke, who made headlines last year when he said he wouldn't enforce the new gun control measures, said the laws are convoluted and impractical.

"They are still unenforceable," he said. "And that is borne out in that there has not been one arrest on these two laws to date."

Chad Vorthmann, executive vice president of the Colorado Farm Bureau, said the measures put an undue burden on farmers and ranchers in the state.

It's not practical or fair, he said, to ask a ranch hand to drive hours to the nearest federally licensed firearms dealer to do the necessary background checks before being able to use his employer's gun.

"The use of firearms on Colorado farms and ranches is integral to the success of their operations and a part of normal, everyday activities," he said. "A sweeping ban on magazines and the unworkable system of background checks for temporary transfers and private sales of firearms places an unconstitutional burden on our members."

Krieger's ruling says "the Supreme Court does not equate the Second Amendment 'right to keep and bear arms' to guarantee an individual the 'right to use any firearm one chooses for self-defense.'"

The Supreme Court had previously ruled that the Second Amendment did not authorize a right to keep and carry "any weapons whatsoever." It allows legislatures to prohibit civilian use of certain weapons commonly used in military service, such as M-16 rifles.

The Second Amendment guarantees the use of weapons commonly used "at the time" for self defense.

Krieger noted that no evidence was produced at the two-week trial that indicated a person's ability to defend himself is seriously diminished if magazines are limited to 15 rounds.

"Of the many law enforcement officials called to testify, none were able to identify a single instance in which they were involved where a single civilian fired more than 15 shots in self defense," she noted.

Defendants argued that legislators passed laws to increase public safety following mass shootings including the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and the Aurora movie theater shootings in 2012.

Advocates for the legislature's tougher gun laws, including Dave Hoover, the uncle of AJ Boik, who was killed in the Aurora Theater shooting, lauded Krieger's decision.

"As I have said repeatedly, no one is losing their rights by having to reload their gun, but with this simple measure we can reduce the number of victims killed in mass shootings," Hoover said in a statement.

Eileen McCarron, president of Colorado Ceasefire Capitol Fund, said the lawsuit was a waste of time and resources.

"This was a politically-motivated lawsuit that has been grasping at straws from day one," McCarron said in a statement. "These laws are reasonable protections against gun violence that many states have adopted and have repeatedly passed the test of constitutionality."

Denver Post Staff Writer Kurtis Lee contributed to this report.

Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, denverpost.com/coldcases or twitter.com/kmitchelldp

A more balanced article on the ruling:

Federal judge upholds Colorado gun restrictions

Federal judge upholds Colorado gun restrictions

By Megan Schrader Updated: June 26, 2014 at 8:56 pm

Colorado's required background checks on all firearm sales and a ban on high-capacity magazines don't violate the Second Amendment, according to a ruling Thursday by Colorado's U.S. District Court Chief Judge Marcia S. Krieger.

Initially 55 sheriffs from across the state joined plaintiffs including a gun manufacturer and a disabled man who argued that he needed high-capacity magazines for self-protection in a constitutional challenge of the laws passed in 2013.

Thursday's ruling says the laws are reasonable restrictions within the bounds of the Second Amendment right to bear arms and do not violate the 14th Amendment's due process clause or the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Attorney David Kopel, who represents the 10 sheriffs who remain as litigants in the case, said they would appeal the decision to the U.S. 10th District Court of Appeals.

"We think we have a very strong case in the Court of Appeals, and this is an important issue for which there should be a precedent set," Kopel said, adding he thinks the judge improperly applied rulings from higher courts.

Krieger, in her 50-page ruling, thoroughly shot down claims made by the plaintiffs during a two-week trail in April.

"No evidence presented here suggests that the general ability of a person to defend him or herself is seriously diminished if magazines are limited to 15 rounds," Krieger wrote, dispelling a key component of the plaintiffs' claim.

Experts testified in detail for the plaintiffs about how long it takes to reload a weapon, the mechanics of firing multiple rounds and anecdotal stories about self-defense shootings.

Krieger also dispelled the idea that requiring background checks on the sale or transfer of a firearm between two individuals was unreasonably burdensome.

"The evidence shows that there are more than 600 firearms dealers in Colorado that are actively performing private checks, and that currently it takes an average of less than 15 minutes for a check to be processed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation," Krieger wrote.

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke, who was permitted to remain as a litigant because he faces term limits in January, read a statement on behalf of the original 55 sheriffs.

"While we respect the judge's ruling on this case today, we believe it is clearly wrong on the law and the facts," Cooke said. "Today was only the first round of the case, not the last."

Cooke said the magazine ban and background check laws are impossible to enforce and do nothing to improve public safety.

He said Gov. John Hickenlooper, who signed the laws, admitted this to sheriffs last week in a moment of candor that was caught on video and caused a political uproar.

Hickenlooper told sheriffs the laws had problems and he was conflicted about signing them. Later he clarified in an interview with the Denver Post that he'd sign them again.

"The judge today offered a thorough and reasoned opinion and recognized that the state's new gun laws do not unduly burden anyone's Second Amendment rights," said Eric Brown, spokesman for the governor, in a statement. "We appreciate the good work that the Attorney General's team did to represent the state and defend the law."

Before the universal background checks were implemented, Colorado required background checks on all retail sales of firearms and all sales at gun shows. The new law closed what Democrats called a loophole that allowed individuals to buy and sell guns without background checks.

The laws were spurred in part by the July 2012 shooting where an armed gunman killed 12 people in a movie theater.

Hickenlooper called on lawmakers in his annual address to come up with a way to address the senseless loss of lives.

The laws brought an impassioned response from Colorado's gun-rights advocates and Republican lawmakers who opposed the laws.

Former Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, was an advocate of the package of gun laws passed during the 2013 legislative session and found himself at the center of a heated recall effort.

Voters removed him from office, but Morse said it was worth it to take a stand on the gun-control issues.

"The ruling was a foregone conclusion," Morse said Thursday. "These laws didn't come within 10 standard deviations of violating the Second Amendment. Those that say it did are deliberately spreading disinformation."

Morse said the appeal will be a further waste of taxpayer dollars.

"Every time you have to reload a gun, you are standing there with an empty gun, and I would much rather as a victim face an empty gun than a loaded gun," said Morse, a former police chief in Fountain. "As for the background checks, it's just common sense that you don't deliver guns to criminals and seriously mentally ill people . we took some serious steps in those regards."

-

Contact Megan Schrader

719-286-0644

Twitter: @CapitolSchrader

As it has been one year since the anti-2A laws went into effect, effectively trapping law abiding gun owners "behind the lines" I thought I would post an update.

The resistance is 1 and 1, with the historic recalls of two state senators and replacement of a third one when faced with a recall... however, we experienced a loss with the recent verdict of the federal judge who found in favor of the Governor and against the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit was bound to be appealed no matter how the verdict went so we will be waiting for the appeals process to proceed.

With the upcoming mid term elections and the Governor facing a significant challenge given his "damaged" reputation the resistance if focused on these election efforts.

In one way, although a set-back for Colorado gun owners, the recent law suit verdict may actually be a positive. If the verdict had gone our way I have some concern that some would have lost interest/ motivation in holding the legislators accountable for their anti-2A support.

The resistance continues...

In a recent Rolling Stone article (that was subsequently pulled), Michael Bloomberg claimed responsibility for passing last years anti-gun laws... and he managed to do it while insinuating that Pueblo and Colorado Springs residents were "rural".

Keep in mind while reading this article that Governor Hickenlooper had denied speaking with Bloomberg during the debate over the gun laws... and again denied speaking to Bloomberg when he recently addressed the Colorado Sheriff's Association. However, the phone records with the Hickenlooper/ Bloomberg conversation are in the public record.

Bloomberg implies Colorado Springs & Pueblo don't have roads in Rolling Stone interview


Bloomberg implies Colorado Springs & Pueblo don't have roads in Rolling Stone interview

Chris Loveless, Digital Content Director , c.loveless@krdo.com

POSTED: 03:01 PM MDT Jul 10, 2014
UPDATED: 06:15 PM MDT Jul 10, 2014

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg characterized Colorado Springs and Pueblo as rural communities that do not have roads in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine

The article was posted on Rolling Stone's website and then later removed. Politico reports that the article is set to be published on July 14, and was put online Wednesday night (7/9/14) by accident.

Bloomberg reportedly spoke with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper before he signed new gun control legislation into law last year.

Democratic State Senators John Morse from Colorado Springs and Angela Giron from Pueblo were successfully recalled for supporting the bills.

During the Rolling Stone interview, Bloomberg is quoted as saying "In Colorado, we got a law passed. The NRA went after two or three state Senators in a part of Colorado where I don't think there's roads. It's as far rural as you can get. And, yes, they lost recall elections. I'm sorry for that. We tried to help 'em. But the bottom line is, the law is on the books, and being enforced. You can get depressed about the progress, but on the other hand, you're saving a lot of lives.

KRDO spoke to local politicians about Bloomberg's interview.

"That's fine, we can have policy disagreements, but to run down and degenerate our city and the people that live in our city to me was unconscionable. Whether it was a joke or whether he was serious," said Republican State Senator Bernie Herpin.

"I'm not going to work myself up into outrage over what is obviously an off-hand, sarcastic comment. I don't think he was saying that Colorado Springs has no roads," said Christy Le Lait, Executive Director with Peak Dems.

A cached version of the article can be viewed here.

Copyright 2014 KRDO. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

What a moron Bloomberg is. Apparently, the only thing that matters in CO to him and the democrats, is Denver .

Thanks for the info MDS, I'll look for the printed version when it comes out, of course it might be hard without roads down here .

Keep talking, Bloomberg.

We rubes outnumber your fools.

Things should be heating up with the elections around the corner. Stand by.

I am massively impressed with this thread. The coverage of the recalls and law suite are most impressive. And the sense of excitement at what did happen in Colorado and the concern. NICE!

I realized that this is only my second post but I read the most of the thread before I was able to post and I would have been very excited to have some of the insight last year during the recalls. I am only starting to get some semblance of a life back. Glad to get to know some of you guys, even if behind a screen name. Again most impressed ....

- Founder of the Colorado recalls and just a guy who really likes Sigs.

quote:

Originally posted by SCdonttreadonme:
I am massively impressed with this thread. The coverage of the recalls and law suite are most impressive. And the sense of excitement at what did happen in Colorado and the concern. NICE!

I realized that this is only my second post but I read the most of the thread before I was able to post and I would have been very excited to have some of the insight last year during the recalls. I am only starting to get some semblance of a life back. Glad to get to know some of you guys, even if behind a screen name. Again most impressed ....

- Founder of the Colorado recalls and just a guy who really likes Sigs.

SCdonttreadonme, thank you for your efforts in our fight and please contribute to this thread as you are able.

Welcome to the forum!

quote:

Originally posted by SCdonttreadonme:
I am massively impressed with this thread. The coverage of the recalls and law suite are most impressive. And the sense of excitement at what did happen in Colorado and the concern. NICE!

I realized that this is only my second post but I read the most of the thread before I was able to post and I would have been very excited to have some of the insight last year during the recalls. I am only starting to get some semblance of a life back. Glad to get to know some of you guys, even if behind a screen name. Again most impressed ....

- Founder of the Colorado recalls and just a guy who really likes Sigs.

Welcome to the forum SCdonttreadonme, and thank you for all your hard work and all you have done for Colorado. While I am not a member of Colorado 2nd Amendment Association I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase one of your Free Colorado Flags.

Do you have a feel on how the November elections are going to go? It is hard to get a feel from where I live as I live in red county.

quote:

Originally posted by SCdonttreadonme:
I am massively impressed with this thread. The coverage of the recalls and law suite are most impressive. And the sense of excitement at what did happen in Colorado and the concern. NICE!

I realized that this is only my second post but I read the most of the thread before I was able to post and I would have been very excited to have some of the insight last year during the recalls. I am only starting to get some semblance of a life back. Glad to get to know some of you guys, even if behind a screen name. Again most impressed ....

- Founder of the Colorado recalls and just a guy who really likes Sigs.

SCdonttreadonme,
Welcome to the Forum. Thanks for your efforts and achievements in our state. I have a close friend that was very involved in the first Hudak recall. I didn't live in that district, but got the word out to many friends and family that did. We just need to bring the ball home this November.

quote:

Originally posted by colomtn:

quote:

Originally posted by SCdonttreadonme:
I am massively impressed with this thread. The coverage of the recalls and law suite are most impressive. And the sense of excitement at what did happen in Colorado and the concern. NICE!

I realized that this is only my second post but I read the most of the thread before I was able to post and I would have been very excited to have some of the insight last year during the recalls. I am only starting to get some semblance of a life back. Glad to get to know some of you guys, even if behind a screen name. Again most impressed ....

- Founder of the Colorado recalls and just a guy who really likes Sigs.

Welcome to the forum SCdonttreadonme, and thank you for all your hard work and all you have done for Colorado. While I am not a member of Colorado 2nd Amendment Association I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase one of your Free Colorado Flags.

Do you have a feel on how the November elections are going to go? It is hard to get a feel from where I live as I live in red county.

I too would like to know. There may be a PCS to Colorado in my future, and whether or not I buy property in the state will depend on how the gun law problem goes.

Our Colorado Senate Candidate, Kerry Donovan vs Don Suppes.

quote:

Suppes questioned Donovan on her stance on gun control. She asked him about his "extreme" positions.

"I would like you to explain to the voters of Senate District 5 how you're different than the extreme Tea Party," Donovan asked.

Suppes said he wanted to "undo some of the mistakes" made by the Democratic-controlled legislature, as well as repeal gun laws and Senate Bill 252,

Yeah, right.
She is a teacher who will vote with the Democrats.

link

Bump before lockdown.

Election day is today. The next round of the battle begins here in Colorado.

Colorado.
Though Republicans got the Secretary of State (crucial for future elections)

Results at Colorado Secy of State
We again lost the governorship.

We may only narrowly win the state senate at 18 to 17.
Watch State Senate District 20 at 30687 Dem versus 30656 Rep (though I think that one is over unless there is a recount. The libertarians cost us that one).

We may only narrowly win the state house at 33 to 32.
Watch State House District 59: 16642 Dem versus 16934 Rep. with one county left to report.

quote:

Originally posted by Solitar:
Colorado.
Though Republicans got the Secretary of State (crucial for future elections)

Results at Colorado Secy of State
We again lost the governorship.

We may only narrowly win the state senate at 18 to 17.
Watch State Senate District 20 at 30687 Dem versus 30656 Rep (though I think that one is over unless there is a recount. The libertarians cost us that one).

We may only narrowly win the state house at 33 to 32.
Watch State House District 59: 16642 Dem versus 16934 Rep. with one county left to report.

If we take both the state house and senate, then it will be a good day (to me) and make up for not getting Hickenlooper out of the governor's seat. I didn't think we had a chance at taking control of the house.

quote:

Originally posted by bigpond73:
Bump before lockdown.

bigpond73, I can't thank you enough for the bump to keep the thread alive and that goes for LoboGunLeather, Solitar, and Storm as well. Thank you for your contributions!

I've been remiss in my efforts with this thread. Long story short, I came down with a rather serious & persistent bug that led to further health issues, and those led to even more serious issues. For several months now I've been in & out of various health care offices & am now getting out from a lengthy hospital stay.

With the mid-term elections several weeks in our "rear view" mirror it probably doesn't do much good or hold much interest for discussion...

... however, I can't help but be curious about the Colorado State Senate losses by the incumbents Bernie Herpin and George Rivera. Both of these State Senators won the recall elections in their respective districts by a decent margin only 14 months earlier so I'm trying to understand how these two suddenly lost. In Herpin's case he lost to the ultra- Progressive and rabidly anti-2A Michael Merrifield who was reported to be working closely with Michael Bloomberg on pushing his anti-2A agenda in Colorado.

In any case, once again, thank you all for your contributions to this thread. I'll do what I can to contribute, but I'm afraid that health issues are going to continue to be an impediment for me.

MDS, I hope you get well soon. Sorry to hear about your health issues.

quote:

Originally posted by bigpond73:
MDS, I hope you get well soon. Sorry to hear about your health issues.

+1

What I can't figure out is that Gardner beat Udall, but hick kept his job.