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Colorado background checks surge as gun rights restrictions advance
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Colorado background checks surge as gun rights restrictions advance

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — Data put out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reporting the number of background checks by the month, shows a trend in Colorado relating to gun rights restrictions being pushed through the legislature every year at this time. For years, Colorado residents appear to race to secure new gun purchases during the latter part of the legislative session when majority Democrats are known to rapidly advance their anti-gun agenda. To date the legislature has introduced 22 bills dealing with gun rights and restrictions in some fashion. Of those, 18 restrict rights, and many are awaiting the governor’s signature; four expanded rights, three of which have lost; and two others are relatively neutral and are awaiting hearings. The Nati...
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Bills restricting gun shows, ammo sales head to Senate floor
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Bills restricting gun shows, ammo sales head to Senate floor

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — Two bills that would slap new restrictions on the sale of firearms and ammunition have Senate committee approval and are headed to the floor for full and final debate. House Bill 25-1238, titled Gun Show Requirements, includes onerous new barriers that would drastically change the way vendors do business at Colorado gun shows, as well as who can access the events. House Bill 25-1133, titled Requirements for Sales of Firearms Ammunition, mandates retailers lock up all ammunition, meaning customers cannot serve themselves off the shelves, as well as prohibits the retail sale of ammunition to a person who is younger than 21 years of age. Both bills passed the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee on Tuesday on strict ...
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Gaines: Journalists conflate all ‘immigrants’ in deportation reporting
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Gaines: Journalists conflate all ‘immigrants’ in deportation reporting

By Cory Gaines | Complete Colorado As an undergrad, I worked many a job, often alongside people who were not born here in the United States.  Some were here legally, some not.  They comprised a variety of ages, life experiences, dreams, fears,  etc.–just as you’d expect with any other group of humans. They were not a uniform mass of humanity.  Why then, do some Colorado journalists seem so eager to make them one? Immigration has been a big story here in Colorado.  All the more so lately as President Trump has ramped up enforcement of federal immigration laws.  Many in Colorado’s left-leaning press have risen to the challenge of reporting on it.  Breathless, dramatic stories abound, with an extra special focus on those who might garner the most sympathy.  Not pr...
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House Bill 1208: Price controls for a minimum wage mistake
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House Bill 1208: Price controls for a minimum wage mistake

By Ari Armstrong, Complete Colorado What happens when the price of eggs soars? People buy fewer eggs and start looking for substitutes. What would happen if, say, government set a $10 minimum price on a dozen eggs, higher than the usual price in stores these days? People would buy fewer eggs, yet producers would want to sell all the eggs they could. Some eggs would sit around unpurchased. No one disputes the economics of price controls on eggs. (We can leave to another day discussion of legislative attempts to set de facto price limits on products.) But, somehow, when it comes to wages, we’re supposed to throw basic economics out the window and pretend that price controls don’t matter. Obviously no one thinks that price controls never matter. If government set a minimum price of a...
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Gaines: Legislative Democrats do their business in darkness
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Gaines: Legislative Democrats do their business in darkness

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Complete Colorado On Dec. 30, 2024, right prior to the legally-mandated deadline, the Executive Committee of the Colorado legislature held a hearing on Senate Bill 24-157.  If you don’t know it by number, this is the bill that, among other things, allows the legislature to avoid certain provisions of the Colorado Open Meetings Law, which privileges them in ways that almost no other governmental entity in this state enjoys.  This privilege extends beyond just legislative business, too.  Majority Democrats have already made use of the law to hold two closed caucus meetings. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessaril...
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Senate Bill 25-005 would unwind labor compromise, prompt ‘right to work’ initiative
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Senate Bill 25-005 would unwind labor compromise, prompt ‘right to work’ initiative

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado Colorado workers and their employers have lived in relative peace under a deal struck more than 80 years ago that stopped years of violence over salary and working conditions. Colorado Democrats want to unravel that deal, but one local policy influencer isn’t going to let it pass without a fight. Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute*, has filed a ballot initiative that won’t only unravel Senate Bill 25-005, should it pass, but it would also make Colorado what’s called a “right-to-work” state, giving employees the right to refuse to join unions, and denying unions the ability to force non-union employees to still pay dues. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO
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As 75th session gets started, GOP opens caucus meetings, Democrats behind closed doors
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As 75th session gets started, GOP opens caucus meetings, Democrats behind closed doors

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado As the 2025 legislative session gets underway it appears majority Democrats will continue practicing closed door governance, while Republicans have pledged to be more transparent, saying Colorado voters have right to know what is going on under the gold dome of the state capitol. Both Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie (D-Dillon) and Senate President Steve Fenberg (D-Boulder) have made it clear that Democrat caucus meetings will no longer be open to the public or the media. The two started closing meetings last August after a new bill they both supported went into law that exempted the legislature from portions of Colorado’s open meeting laws. Senate Bill 24-157 was passed after another bill sponsored by Democrats allowing legislators to block...
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Caldara: Prying open secretive government at the ballot box
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Caldara: Prying open secretive government at the ballot box

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Hubris? Arrogance? Disdain? Contempt? What word describes the attitude of the Colorado legislature toward those who elected them? What explains their actions? Longtime political strategist Eric Sonderman described it to me in three simple words: “Because we can.” How can Sen. Chris Hansen run for re-election knowing that as soon as he wins, he’ll resign to take a $500,000 per-year crony job at a power utility? Well, because he can. How can the governor, who campaigned promising to massively cut special interest tax breaks, instead create an avalanche of new ones, enough to drain the budget of all TABOR surplus money? Again, because he can. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinion...
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Rep. Gonzalez: Without TABOR, we would have higher taxes, little to no tax refunds, and unlimited government spending
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Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com

Rep. Gonzalez: Without TABOR, we would have higher taxes, little to no tax refunds, and unlimited government spending

By Rep. Ryan Gonzalez | Commentary, Complete Colorado In 1992, Colorado voters passed the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, the nation’s strongest tax limitation law to this day. For those who are unfamiliar what TABOR really does, this amendment to the Colorado Constitution allows government spending to reasonably increase using a formula of population growth plus inflation. Excess revenue, known as the “TABOR surplus,” must be refunded to taxpayers. If state government wants to keep the surplus, or raise taxes, voters must approve. That is exactly why progressives abhor TABOR. But the truth is, a little north of 60% of Colorado voters approve of TABOR. Many progressives have made their disdain for TABOR be known, having tried time and time again to chip away at TABOR’s...
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Caldara: Progressive press needs a dose of ideological diversity
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Caldara: Progressive press needs a dose of ideological diversity

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado I am told over and over that the greatest quality reporters can have is curiosity. Then why aren’t journalists even slightly curious about why they lost their credibility from their customers? In 1976, 72% of Americans had a “great deal of trust and confidence in the mass media” to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly” according to that year’s Gallup survey. By 2024 that number plummeted to 31%. Congrats honored members of the press. You’re trusted less than Congress. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the c...
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