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Trained Armed Staff Could Be Key to School Safety
Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Trained Armed Staff Could Be Key to School Safety

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Enough. Damn it, enough! Enough virtue signaling instead of preventing school shootings. Enough of elected school boards denying reality. It is time for all of Colorado’s 178 school districts to join the 50 that currently have volunteer, trained, concealed armed staff to stop a shooter the moment he begins — because when seconds count, the police are only minutes away The difference is wanting to feel safe versus wanting to be safe. By constantly making it harder and more expensive for law-abiding people (i.e. the good guys) to purchase, practice and legally carry firearms, our lawmakers think we will feel safer. Maybe some will even fall for it and feel safer. But none of it makes us any safer. Reality check Actually ...
Colorado House Republicans elect Jarvis Caldwell as minority leader after Pugliese resignation
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado House Republicans elect Jarvis Caldwell as minority leader after Pugliese resignation

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The Colorado House Republican caucus on Saturday chose Rep. Jarvis Caldwell of Monument as its next minority leader. Caldwell succeeds former Rep. Rose Pugliese of Colorado Springs, who resigned on Sept. 15. Caldwell won 12 out of the 20 votes cast. Two other nominees – Reps. Ken DeGraaf of Colorado Springs and Larry Don Suckla of Cortez, both received four votes each. The caucus meeting showed the angst over what happened in the recent special session is far from over. Caldwell began by thanking Pugliese for her leadership. But “we’re in a moment we may never see again,” he told the caucus. This is a turning point in the state of Colorado, Caldwell said, with Democratic approval ratings underwater and Democrats in the House aud...
From CSU Canvas Stadium to classrooms: Colorado faces a culture reckoning
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From CSU Canvas Stadium to classrooms: Colorado faces a culture reckoning

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice At CSU’s vigil for Charlie Kirk, speakers moved from grief to courage, tying the moment to a generational fight for truth. In Fort Collins, Canvas Stadium was bathed in light as thousands raised their phones in unison, a modern candlelit vigil for Charlie Kirk. The glow stretched across the stands, a silent tribute led by the students he had inspired. Thousands filled CSU’s Canvas Stadium for the Charlie Kirk vigil. “Conservatives and Christians on college campuses were told to be quiet, but Charlie gave us our voice to stand up for what we believe in, to love America and to love Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, our king,” said Gabe Saint, president of Turning Point USA’s Wyoming chapter. He described hundreds of students reaching...
How Special Was That Session?
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

How Special Was That Session?

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC) Last Wednesday, on September 10th, we witnessed a political assassination. A young, courageous conservative was murdered in cold blood on the campus of Utah Valley University. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was engaging students in conversation and debate when he was violently gunned down.  College campuses are supposed to be places of intellectual curiosity where ideas are explored, and students make up their own minds. This concept of free speech was something our country was founded on, but it seems that the Colorado legislative majority party does not want to hear differing thoughts. The message of the Kirk assassination was that if you don’t agree with progressive ideology, you should jus...
State Leaders Put Criminal Rights Ahead of Public Safety
The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

State Leaders Put Criminal Rights Ahead of Public Safety

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette Only days ago, The Gazette editorial board weighed in on how easy it is for dangerous criminal suspects with lengthy records in Colorado to walk free — and never come back — as they supposedly await trial or other court proceedings. That includes when they are deemed “incompetent” to understand the charges against them — usually, due to presumed mental illness — and at times are released pending psychiatric assessment and treatment to restore their competency. Even under those circumstances, suspects can wind up going free for good, either because they fail to follow through on outpatient psychiatric care and disappear onto the streets, or, incredibly, they have been found permanently incompetent — and by state law, the char...
State Triggers Emergency Prison Measures Due to Overcrowding
The Gazette, Approved, State

State Triggers Emergency Prison Measures Due to Overcrowding

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Gazette Ongoing issues within the Colorado Department of Corrections have prompted the state to trigger its Prison Population Management Measures — a policy framework established in 2018 to address overcrowding. It marks the first time the measures have been put into effect. Under the law, the governor must implement the management measures if the state’s prison vacancy rate stays below 3% for 30 consecutive days, a threshold that was met on Aug. 16. The issue of overcrowding in the state correctional facilities has been a growing concern for months, with county sheriffs sounding the alarm in May over the shortage of prison beds, leading to increased strain on local jails. Facing a budget shortfall of over $1 billion, state lawmake...
The push to redefine beneficial use ignores 100 years of western water law
GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

The push to redefine beneficial use ignores 100 years of western water law

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com Last week when some marauding teens bashed a mailbox with a bat, angry neighbors posted on nextdoor.com, “there needs to be a law against that.” Is that just an impulse reaction, or do they really not know there is a law against that. Since 1909, it has been a federal offense to tamper with, vandalize, deface, or destroy mailboxes, under penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. People often think things ought to be illegal that already are, that we should regulate things we already do, even that things ought to be defined that already are. I couldn’t help wondering how serious recent headlines were, announcing that several environmental industry groups had petitioned the Bureau of Reclamation to stop allowing water to be wast...
Colorado Gas Stove Labeling Law Faces Court Challenge
State, Approved, DENVER7

Colorado Gas Stove Labeling Law Faces Court Challenge

By Anusha Roy | Denver7 DENVER — The debate over the gas stove inside your home is headed to court. Lawmakers passed a new Colorado law requiring safety labels on new gas stoves being sold. The law would require labels in both English and Spanish. Advocates say this would help people understand the impact of gas stoves on the air quality inside their homes. On the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) website, the agency shared: “There is evidence that particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, and methane can be released into indoor air from gas stoves.1" "According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air pollutants can build up to levels that may affect people’s health if the spa...
Gold standard or clear failure? Colorado trails 36 nations on election rules.
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Gold standard or clear failure? Colorado trails 36 nations on election rules.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s election rulebook emphasizes convenience—automatic mail ballots, long voting windows and ballot harvesting—exactly where most countries draw hard lines. That philosophical split is why Colorado lands at 50 out of 100 in a new international survey, and why the authors behind it want an on-the-record conversation with the secretary of state. “We’d love to speak with your secretary of state… we’ll ask questions and she can ask questions,” said Gary Meyers, who co-authored the study with Jay DeLancy. Meyers explained that The Meyers Report is a long-running research group, active for more than forty years, with contributors spread across 30 countries. “We’re interested in truth, we’re interested in fairness,” he said, describing a team...
Faith under fire: Grief, risk—and the legacy Charlie left behind
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Faith under fire: Grief, risk—and the legacy Charlie left behind

By Jen Schumann | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Grief is an ember. Handled well, it can light a thousand torches. Pastor Chris Goble put it plainly—Charlie “died because he was willing to do things that we weren’t”—then pictured that spark rising into a bonfire of new voices. The scene in Orem set the tone, the flight to Phoenix confirmed it—and the work ahead now belongs to those willing to carry the heat without burning out. The cost of courage For Heidi Ganahl, the loss feels like “a gaping hole” in the conservative movement. “Freedom can be dangerous,” she said. “And it took a dear friend’s life.” Goble anchored that grief in scripture, drawing parallels to the early church. “We live in a spiritual cosmic war,” he said. “We have to expect both real and spiritual bulle...