Quote by Dr. Rob:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Our letter-writing and phone call campaign do seem to have some things stalled/tabled...[/quote]
Yep, it's true. Good example from the Denver Post:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/leg/leg0210.htm
OWENS' GUN-SHOW BILL IN PERIL
Feb. 10 - Gov. Bill Owens' plan to require background checks at gun shows appears to be headed toward defeat, amid some of the most intense lobbying seen at the state Capitol in recent memory.
A loss on the gun-show bill would gut Owens' gun-control package, leaving only the noncontroversial parts of his middle-of-the-road plan still alive in the Legislature.
A vote on the gun-show measure was delayed for the second time in the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday because the legislative sponsor, House Minority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, didn't have enough votes for passage.
"I just wanted to be able to sleep at night knowing that I did everything I could if it doesn't pass," Gordon said of his decision to postpone a vote. "If it does pass, of course, I'd have no trouble sleeping."
Another vote has been scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Friday. If Gordon doesn't have the votes by then, the bill will die.
Owens' staff is not conceding defeat, but they don't sound hopeful.
"I don't think we ever thought we could bat one thousand," said Owens spokesman Dick Wadhams. "We're working as hard as we can."
Instant criminal background checks already are required when someone buys a gun in a store. But at gun shows, many vendors don't do background checks because they're considered to be private sellers offering private collections.
Supporters of the bill say that "loophole" is a well-known way for criminals to obtain guns.
All of the guns used in the Columbine High School massacre came from a gun show. Robyn Anderson, the woman who bought three of the guns on behalf of killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, said they sought private sellers to avoid paperwork.
The NRA opposes the bill, saying federal officials already are abusing the background-check system to keep a list of gun owners.
Many gun owners fear such a list could be used by the government to take guns away.
The lobbying on the bill this week has been intense. The NRA sent a letter to its 80,000 Colorado members urging them to lobby lawmakers against the bill. The letter included the name and phone numbers of all Colorado lawmakers.
Owens' top lobbyist, Mike Beasley, has been working to keep the bill alive.
"It's the most intense vote-counting I've ever done," Beasley said. "In the nine years I've been lobbying, this is the hardest it's ever been." Members of SAFE Colorado, the state's lead gun-control lobbying group, have started going door-todoor asking people to call their legislators in support of the gun-show bill and Owens' other gun-control bills.
SAFE concentrated its phone efforts in the district of one swing vote on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Debbie Allen, RAurora. But so has Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, a pro-gun group that considers the NRA too moderate.
The pro-gun group was working Wednesday on its third mailing in Allen's district, and planned to go door-to-door urging her constituents to call her to express opposition to the bill.
Rep. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, says he believes Allen will vote against the bill. But Allen would not confirm that Wednesday.
"I made that decision a long time ago," Allen said. "I'm not going to tell people what that decision is until Friday." Hagedorn, who is Allen's opponent in a state Senate race, says it will be an issue in the fall election.
"Her decision is different than mine and gives the voters a clear choice," Hagedorn said. "I think it's the right thing to do."
Owens' other controversial proposal - safe storage of guns in the home - was defeated last week after a Democrat, Rep. Nolbert Chavez, D-Denver, missed a committee vote. The sponsor of the measure, Rep. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, says she's working with Owens' office to try to revive the measure.
Owens' gun-control package is part of his response to the Columbine High School massacre. In addition to safe storage and requiring background checks at gun shows, he wants to include juvenile records in background checks, allow local prosecution of people who buy guns for criminals and children, and raise the minimum age for purchasing a handgun from 18 to 21.
SAFE has pledged to take any of Owens' measures that don't pass and put them on the statewide ballot in November.
Owens is in an odd position on the bill, pushing against the strong efforts of the NRA. Owens was endorsed and financially backed by the gun group in his 1998 election, and was ready to sign several NRA-backed bills last year before the April 20 shootings at Columbine.
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For the House Appropriations Committee, where we can kill this bill, these are the most important votes to secure:
Capitol Home E-mail
Rep. Debbie Allen 303-866-2942 303-695-4920 debyallen@aol.com
Rep. Gayle Berry 303-866-2582 970-255-9121 gberry@csn.net
Rep. Joyce Lawrence 303-866-2922 jlawrenc@sni.net
Rep. Brad Young 303-866-2940 byoung@sni.net
Rep. Nancy Spence 303-866-2935 303-690-5106 nspence@sni.net
Rep. Gary McPherson 303-866-2944 gmcp@sni.net
Let 'em have it!
