I’m sorry to report that it appears Dudley Brown was successful in scuttling a Democratic proposal to raise the magazine limit in Colorado from 15 to 30 rounds.
Caldara said Wednesday that he had not yet received the letter, but agreed that it would be impossible to pass a 30-round limit this year with 26 Republicans in opposition. Supporters of the plan would need every House and Senate Republican behind it, plus a few House Democrats.
Years from now, when Coloradans are still living with a 15 round limit, you can thank Brown and all the people who drink the RMGO kool-aid  for it, because I think that’s going to be the result. Colorado’s demographics aren’t going to improve from here for Republicans. Unless there’s a major realignment, it’s hard to see how we’re getting rid of that limit. Maybe we’ll get extraordinarily lucky in the courts.
That said, I don’t want to get into endless bickering over this. It’s time to move on and keep pushing for either full repeal, or whatever we can get out of the Democrats, who are likely to control the Colorado House for some time.
UPDATE: I know I have a few Colorado readers. What two Democrats are potentially vulnerable in 2016 or 2018 in the Colorado House? How likely is the GOP to hold the Colorado Senate in a non-wave year?
If Colorado demographics have tipped irreversibly against gun rights, and sent it off the cliff to be the next CA/NY/NJ/MD then the whole issue of whose magazine limit reversal effort was better is moot, anyway. The whole state will eventually progressive from 15-round limit to MA-style 10-round limit to NY-style 7-round mag capacity, then single-shot only, then nothing.
Oofah.
–Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
Since only 1/2 of senators come up for election we have potential to hold/expand grip on Senate. I don’t know likelihood of either, but since we’re voting for senators elected in 2012, an Obama reelection year, I would think there is some positive there.
The problem is the house. We didn’t get the house back in a wave year, so probably won’t next year either (though minus the stoner vote we may have a better chance).
When looking at demographics we’re really looking at Hispanic vote. I think it’s wrong to assume they will always vote Democrat for a number of reasons. Whether Repubs are smart enough to find a way to win them over without surrendering basic principles … hard to say.
Wish I could name some names, but I only know I’m in a conservative area gerrymandered in with Denver so my vote counts little (though we did manage to surprise them with the colorado senate vote)!
The only thing I would say about that is that I’ve seen a lot of blue states hold on to gun rights through a sort of unspoken stalemate. Oregon is one such state. So is Delaware (though they lost a bit after Sandy Hook, but not as much as other blue states). I’d also , though Oregon may be breaking for good. I’d also put in that category Washington, Maine, and Hawaii. Before Sandy Hook, I would have put Maryland into that category too, but I think Maryland has broken permanently absent a great realignment.
Colorado was a surprise for everyone. No one thought it had gotten that bad. Prior to Sandy Hook I would have said Pennsylvania is in sorrier shape than Colorado. But now I’ve been forced to re-evaluate that.
New Jersey would have gotten worse post-Sandy Hook if it weren’t for Christie vetoing most of the Dem legislature’s nonsense. That’s good, because NJ is already about as bad as it can get.
Massachusetts was a post-Sandy Hook surprise. It gives me hope that things might be at a stalemate there, though it’s not so encouraging how bad things had to get to arrive there.
It’s a complex issue. I’d wager Dems don’t take up making things worse in Colorado for a decade or two, for fear of upsetting the balance. The recalls were very powerful. That did us more favors than most can imagine.
Not for nothing, but NJ managed to avoid a magazine size limit squeeze after Sandy Hook
Sure, but was that because your Governor knew if he signed it he’d never be elected President in a country where ~45 states are pro gun rights?
Honestly, I don’t know, but that’s how I see his couple of recent involvements in gun control issues/cases in NJ.
–Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
I was a firsthand witness to some rumblings from the NJ GOP, even before Christie came long, that they had been ignoring this demographic for too long. I don’t think that’s universal within the GOP establishment in NJ, but there is still at least that viewpoint floating around.
I’m on Rep Lance’s mailing lists (used to live in his district); and he takes every opportunity to polish his pro-gun cred for a while now. And he’s an old-line country club republican.
Got a money begging letter from the DUD today. Don’t know how he bot my email. But back in the bit bucket for him and his ilk, like GOA. As to how to act about Colorado, I will treat it like New Jersey, New York and the other slave states. I’ll stay out and do my best to not send my money to places like that.
ANyone else receive the “We’re being sued by Soros, send us money?” Email from Dudley?
No. Send it to me.
Daily
Twice daily, sometimes.
The state was well and truly gerrymandered in 2010 so winning the house will be doubly difficult. OTOH we lost 3 or 4 house seats last time by less than 100 votes so winning is possible.
The GOP is under new management now so we’ll see how aggressive they get. As long as the national Dems keep up the good work, and the locals keep pointedly ignoring their constituents, the odds keep getting better.
Explain “under new management?” Are you referring to the CO GOP or the national delegation or the GOP in gener?
That would be the CO GOP. A lot of people were hacked at losing the house by such a small margin in several races and the otherwise successful, if somewhat cautious chairman was replaced.
Yeah, I got the DUD letter. And deleted it and put it on my SPAM list. Don’t know how he got my email in the first place.
“Don’t know how he got my email in the first place.”
They are part of a network whose common denominator is they are almost exclusively Christian Right. Their behind-the-scenes guru is Mike Rothfeld, a leader in the mass-email field. Those people are all email list whores who will cut each other’s throats for an email list. If you ever participate in an online petition or in any way respond to a right-leaning online come-on, chances are high you will wind up on their list eventually.
Bingo!
I forgot to add, it is rumored they provide “email list management” software to nascent state-level gun rights groups that associate with them, that, the first thing it does is, email the groups’ lists back to their political network — that includes not just NAGR, RMGO, or gun rights organizations. Firearms rights are mainly a front issue they use for a decoy.
In the previous post on this topic, commenters here were actually advocating this as a winning strategy. Perhaps now that they got what they wanted they’ll explain how this advances gun rights..
I love how the antis have no problem playing the long game, attempting to ever so slowly chip away at our rights. Meanwhile we have folks like Brown who prefers to stomp his feet when we have an opportunity to regain some, yelling about how this would “show we support government regulation”. So I guess we should have never fought for the dozens of states over the last few decades that moved from no issue to may issue, then eventually to shall issue? Because you know, if it’s not constitutional carry then it shouldn’t be supported to begin with. What a stupid strategy.
I would say there are plenty of antis stamping their feet in horror that guns aren’t immediately and completely banned (ever read commongunsense.com?). But yeah … it’s not very worthwhile on either side.
Did your site get hacked? I read that the Dems proposed the 30 round mags and 26 Repubs opposed it.
Who’s living with a 15 round limit? ;)
Up until recently, I could’ve help with Colorado^H^H^Hfornia information but I decided it was more in my interest to relocate to a less fascist political subdivision. I now pay my taxes and buy my guns in Montana … never knew seeing the state line receding in the rear view mirror would feel so good.