Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

State

NRA joins El Paso County man in suing to stop voter-approved Colorado excise tax on guns, ammo
No Comments
Approved, KRDO.COM, State

NRA joins El Paso County man in suing to stop voter-approved Colorado excise tax on guns, ammo

By Sadie Buggle | KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The National Rifle Association (NRA) is joining a number of gun rights organizations and an El Paso County resident in filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality a 6.5% excise tax on guns and ammo sold in Colorado, set to go into effect today, April 1. Proposition KK was passed by voters in November. It creates a 6.5% excise tax on firearm-related purchases in the state of Colorado. Firearm dealers, manufacturers and ammunition sellers are responsible for paying the new tax on their retail sales. The tax revenue will be used to fund crime victim support services, mental health services for veterans and youth, and school safety programs. The lawsuit was filed Monday in Denver District Court by the NRA, the Firearms ...
Read More
Federal charges filed in Loveland Tesla firebombing: AG Bondi says ‘Justice is coming’
No Comments
Approved, Fox News, State

Federal charges filed in Loveland Tesla firebombing: AG Bondi says ‘Justice is coming’

By Louis Casiano | Fox News A man accused of firebombing a Tesla dealership in Colorado is facing federal charges, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday.  Cooper Jo Fredrick, 24, was arrested in Plano, Texas, on suspicion of attacking a Tesla dealership on March 7 in Loveland, Colo., Bondi said.  "Let this be a warning. You can run, but you cannot hide," Bondi said in a video message. "Justice is coming." Frederick, a resident of Fort Collins, Colo., allegedly ignited an incendiary device and hurled it at the dealership, narrowly missing several parked vehicles. The device landed between two cars, and created a fire, Loveland police said.  Several people inside the dealership who were cleaning the building were present at the time, police said. However, ...
Read More
Colorado lawmakers propose budget full of cuts and cash sweeps
No Comments
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado lawmakers propose budget full of cuts and cash sweeps

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Lawmakers on Monday introduced in the state Senate the legislation setting up the 2025-26 budget, which contains hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cuts, transfers and sweeps.   The spending plan comes in at $43.9 billion. The plan includes $16.7 billion in general fund dollars. That is the discretionary money that comes from corporate and individual income taxes, as well as sales and use taxes. Lawmakers use that money to fund new programs, although it will be in short supply in a year when the Joint Budget Committee will have to find ways to cover a $1.2 billion shortfall. Senate Bill 206 was introduced along with 63 "orbitals" — bills that make statutory changes to balance the budget. And that's where a lot...
Read More
Cole: Colorado’s gender bills sideline parents and rush kids into harm
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Cole: Colorado’s gender bills sideline parents and rush kids into harm

By Shaina Cole | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice On Friday, March 28, Colorado legislators introduced House Bill 25-1309 and House Bill 25-1312, proposals crafted to safeguard transgender youth. Their aims are well-meaning: one mandates insurance coverage for gender-affirming treatments such as hormone therapy and surgeries, while the other anchors gender identity within custody law to protect vulnerable children.  Yet, beneath these noble intentions lies a troubling prospect—lasting harm to the very youth they seek to shield, coupled with an alarming shift of authority from parents to the state. Consider HB 25-1309, which compels insurance providers to fund gender-affirming care when deemed medically necessary. The goal is clear: ensure access for transgender youth. H...
Read More
A shepherd in the trenches: Rep. Scott Bottoms answers the call to fight for Colorado
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

A shepherd in the trenches: Rep. Scott Bottoms answers the call to fight for Colorado

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice El Paso County Republican Rep. Scott Bottoms walked the quiet State Capitol halls with his wife, prayers filling the empty space. They spent hours there—no fanfare, just a pastor seeking God’s will on a new path after years of preaching in Colorado Springs.  Several lawmakers asked him to run for office. “I’m a pastor,” he told them. One replied, “Pray about it.” That stuck. “I almost said no,” Bottoms said. “I was scared God might say yes.”  “I didn’t choose this,” Bottoms said. “I felt God say, ‘This is your battlefield.’” He said what no one else would Bottoms caught the attention of millions across the country with a speech that went viral on X last fall. “Our state is running rampant with pedophilia,”...
Read More
Lawmakers propose risky PERA maneuver for voter-approved police funding amid budget shortfall
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Lawmakers propose risky PERA maneuver for voter-approved police funding amid budget shortfall

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Something’s missing from the Colorado state budget proposal — and it’s a biggie. The Joint Budget Committee last week finalized its budget package without deciding what to do about Proposition 130: the voter-approved requirement that the state spend $350 million to support law enforcement. But the six-member panel does have the makings of a plan. The JBC was briefed last week on a draft bill to dole out the $350 million in regular installments over the next 10 years. If only it were that simple. READ FULL ARTICLE ON THE COLORADO SUN
Read More
Bureaucracy vs. 2A rights? SB25-003 awaits Polis’ pen
No Comments
Approved, kdvr.com, State

Bureaucracy vs. 2A rights? SB25-003 awaits Polis’ pen

By Heather Willard | Fox31 News DENVER (KDVR) — On Friday, the Colorado Senate voted to concur with amendments adopted by the House on a bill that Democrat legislators have touted as a way to “fully implement and enforce Colorado’s existing high-capacity magazine prohibition.” That means the bill is now headed to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk where he could sign the measure into law. The bill would require anyone in Colorado after Aug. 1, 2026, to have a permit and complete firearm safety training to purchase semiautomatic firearms that accept detachable magazines. The bill would also prevent any sales of rapid-fire conversion devices, which allow the user of a semiautomatic gun to treat it more like a fully automatic weapon. These devices include bump stocks and binary trigger...
Read More
Bannon lights fire under Colorado GOP at Centennial Gala: “The elites failed this state”
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Bannon lights fire under Colorado GOP at Centennial Gala: “The elites failed this state”

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Despite credible bomb threats and a last-minute venue change, the Colorado GOP gathered under tight security to kick off what Steve Bannon called “a journey to take this state back.” But the fight, he warned, isn’t just against Democrats—it’s against weak Republicans and elites “who don’t want you in their party.” The Centennial Dinner, held March 28 at Phil Long Music Hall in Colorado Springs, featured a live call-in from former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from the Larimer County jail, and a headlining speech from Bannon that ignited the room with calls for courage, action and confrontation.  Outside, protesters shouted and blocked the entrance. Inside, hundreds of attendees stood their ground. A call t...
Read More
From the ashes of division: Horn, Phelan and Andrews chart a new course for Colorado GOP
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From the ashes of division: Horn, Phelan and Andrews chart a new course for Colorado GOP

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice "We’re like a great football team," Russ Andrews told delegates at the Colorado Republican Party reorganization meeting on March 29. "But when we take the field, we block and tackle each other. That has to end." It was a sentiment echoed by the party's newly elected leaders Brita Horn (Chair), D. Lee Phelan Sr. (Vice Chair), and Andrews himself, who was elected Secretary. The three swept their respective races after a day of pointed speeches, surprise withdrawals and shifting alliances that ended with a new leadership slate promising to put unity and effectiveness over factional infighting. Contests, concessions and realignment Lori Saine, who came in second to Horn in the chair race, struck a note of resilience. She t...
Read More
Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board After years of overreach and unchecked government growth, Colorado lawmakers are now scrambling to plug a $1.2 billion hole in the state budget — a crisis largely of their own making.  Colorado budget writers voted Wednesday night to finalize a 2025–26 budget plan that slashes transportation funding, eliminates programs, and kicks key decisions down the road — all while Medicaid spending surges out of control. Despite the so-called “cuts,” the budget still grows to over $16 billion. But massive increases in Medicaid — particularly long-term care for seniors and the disabled — are eating up the budget at an unsustainable pace. Democrat lawmakers admit the problem is only getting worse. “Next year, I see our fiscal challenges compounding,...
Read More