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Author: Brian Porter

Sponsors offer some concessions, but SB 3 still ‘infringement,’ Republicans argue
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Sponsors offer some concessions, but SB 3 still ‘infringement,’ Republicans argue

'Shall not be infringed means shall not be infringed' — Sen. Lisa Frizell By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Debate over Senate Bill 25-003, which began in the late afternoon Thursday and continued into the wee hours of Friday morning, ended with Democrats giving initial support to one of the country's most extreme gun laws in a mostly party line voice vote in the Colorado Senate. At issue is whether, in the interest of stemming mass shootings in the state, if Coloradans should sacrifice constitutionally-provided gun ownership rights. Bill co-sponsor, Democrat Sen. Tom Sullivan, relayed the story of his son's death in the Aurora theatre shooting more than a decade ago, which inspired his writing of the bill. "This is primarily working to enforce the [high-capacity magazi...
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Sen. Kirkmeyer decries two-faced SB 3, permitting filmmakers to use guns that Coloradans couldn’t purchase
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Sen. Kirkmeyer decries two-faced SB 3, permitting filmmakers to use guns that Coloradans couldn’t purchase

'All of those films with people shooting each other might have led to mass shooting violence' — Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The same guns which Senate Bill 25-003, the semi-auto firearm ban, would make unlawful for Coloradans to sell, purchase or transfer ownership of, would be allowed for filmmakers in the state to use as props. And it isn't setting well with Senate Republicans, especially Brighton Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer. "As long as you're firing blanks and you're from Hollywood, it's OK for you to put that prop in a film and glamourize it," she described an amendment to SB 3 reading. "All of those films with people shooting each other might have led to mass shooting violence." The stemming of mass shootings in Colorado, as she notes, is suppose...
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Sen. Rod Pelton asks Colorado lawmakers to ‘crack down on crime in this state’
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Sen. Rod Pelton asks Colorado lawmakers to ‘crack down on crime in this state’

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The odds might not be ever in your favor in Colorado that if you operate a motor vehicle here, it won't be stolen at some point. A case made Friday by Cheyenne Wells Sen. Rod Pelton is a family from Wray on the distant Eastern Plains, near the state line shared with Nebraska. The family, from Cory Gardner Country in Yuma County, had traveled to Denver on Thursday, but had difficulty returning home. "They were up here enjoying a good time at state wrestling and their car was stolen," he said. Wray is a town of about 2,400 with a crime rate nearly four times lower than the average. Extrapolating FBI data from 2019-2023, Newsweek reports auto theft per capita is highest in Colorado among all states. That FBI data also details auto theft ha...
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Three-term Republican state Rep. Rod Bockenfeld has died
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Three-term Republican state Rep. Rod Bockenfeld has died

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Rod Bockenfeld, who served Colorado's House District 56 for three terms, has died, Sen. Rod Pelton announced Thursday to the Colorado Senate. "He was my representative for two years," Pelton said. "We sat next to each other in the House chamber, and we became really close. He was a great man." Bockenfeld moved to Colorado in 1978 and began a career as a financial crimes investigator. He earned a bachelor's in law enforcement administration and a graduate degree in banking. In 2004, Bockenfeld was elected as an Arapahoe County commissioner, a position in which he served for 12 years. In 2018, he was elected to serve in the Colorado House and was sworn into office in 2019. He represented Adams, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, El Paso, Elbert, Kit Carson...
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In shift from ‘system of choice to coercion,’ Senate Republicans outnumbered in fight on SB 5
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In shift from ‘system of choice to coercion,’ Senate Republicans outnumbered in fight on SB 5

'There's no company that doesn't care about worker safety, that doesn't care about productivity.' — Minority Leader Paul Lundeen By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A series of seven amendments were all lost Thursday as Colorado Senate Republicans were powerless to improve upon a partisan Democrat bill they say is in search of a problem. Senate Bill 25-005, by Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez and Democrat Sen. Jessie Danielson, which would undo significant portions of an 81-year-old labor relations law, was adopted by voice vote on second reading by the Democrat-dominated Senate. That 1943 policy set Colorado apart and should continue, Minority Leader Paul Lundeen said. "It represents middle ground between right-to-work states and union states," he said. "The act aimed to...
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Rep. Bottoms’ HB 1145, prohibiting trafficking of minors into state for reproductive services, killed in committee
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Rep. Bottoms’ HB 1145, prohibiting trafficking of minors into state for reproductive services, killed in committee

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Rep. Scott Bottoms may have learned Tuesday that perception is indeed reality. Despite multiple attempts to position his House Bill 25-1145 as another attempt to hold accountable child traffickers he has witnessed operating over two decades, his bill was shredded in the House's Judiciary Committee for surface concerns it was rather an anti-abortion, anti-transgender bill. "This is a bill trying to stop trafficking and the abuse of our children," said Bottoms, a Colorado Springs pastor. "This is another shot at just trying to put these people in jail." The bill would prohibit the taking, or trafficking, of a minor across state lines into Colorado for the purpose of reproductive health-care services. It was postponed indefinitely by a 7-4 pa...
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HB 1098, the crime victim alert system bill, advances, but without Republican committee support. Here’s why.
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HB 1098, the crime victim alert system bill, advances, but without Republican committee support. Here’s why.

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It would be difficult to say what turned Republican support against a bipartisan bill Tuesday in the House's Judiciary Committee — the considerable expenditure required in a down fiscal year or the potential raised of harm to gun owners. House Bill 25-1098, by Delta Republican Rep. Matt Soper and Democrat Rep. Rebekah Stewart, aimed at establishing an automated system to alert crime victims to changes in their cases, lost all but Soper's support from the minority caucus. "I'm a huge advocate for victim's rights," said Republican Rep. Rebecca Keltie, a member of the committee. "The fiscal note is a concern." Implementation and maintenance of a notification system by a third-party vendor would require a $500,000 investment this fiscal year a...
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Rep. Evans, the grandson of immigrants, joins U.S. House’s Hispanic Conference
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Rep. Evans, the grandson of immigrants, joins U.S. House’s Hispanic Conference

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, has joined the U.S. House's Congressional Hispanic Conference, his office announced Wednesday. The first-term congressman represents Colorado's 8th District, including most of Adams and Weld Counties. “I'm proud to celebrate the values and contributions of Hispanic Americans and their stories — like my Abuelito Chavez who earned his citizenship fighting for our country in World War II," Evans said in a statement for the announcement by the conference's chairman Tony Gonzales. "I look forward to working with my colleagues to lower inflation, strengthen public safety and make the American Dream more attainable." Evans spent 12 years in the U.S Army, rising to the rank of captain, and ...
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It’s take three for the unpopular, anti-gun SB 3 returning Thursday to the Colorado Senate floor
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It’s take three for the unpopular, anti-gun SB 3 returning Thursday to the Colorado Senate floor

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It's a déjà vu moment in the Colorado Senate. Senate Bill 25-003 will be up for a second reading Thursday, Feb. 13, for the third time in three weeks. The bill, which some have said would make Colorado the most anti-gun state in the country, has been laid over twice — in a Democrat-controlled Senate — almost assuredly because the majority party does not have the votes to pass the measure. Without a second reading the bill is frozen in the Senate and may not be taken up by the Colorado House. The Senate convenes at 9 a.m. Thursday. SB 3 is a wildly unpopular bill among conservatives and among vulnerable Democrats, many of whom believe it is unconstitutional. If passed, the bill, led by Democrat Sens. Tom Sullivan and Julie Gonzales and spon...
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Bipartisan bill to help inmates clear warrants before release sails through committee
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Bipartisan bill to help inmates clear warrants before release sails through committee

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Occasionally, there is a concept with such merit that it transcends party lines in Colorado's General Assembly. House Bill 25-1116 is one of those, Denver Democrat Rep. Jennifer Bacon says. "It is such a good idea that Rep. Ryan Armagost and Jennifer Bacon would be on the same bill," Bacon noted. She is the assistant majority leader in the Colorado House for the Democrats. Armagost, a Republican representing Larimer and conservative Weld County, is the minority party's whip. Together, they are the House sponsors of the bill that would help Department of Corrections inmates have a more successful reintegration into society. "When an inmate is getting released, they are notified [of release] just prior to their release," Armagost said, ex...
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