Meetings with Legislature
On Friday February 8, a small group of us went to the State Capitol for scheduled meetings with several legislators on both sides of the aisle. We had a few cancelled, but we also have more scheduled including one with the Governor and testimony. A few people asked me to post my comments and such, and for the most part, I will do so.
Who went. We were all competitive shooters which was one of the ways we got the meetings in the first place. In general, we had an attorney, a nationally recognized gun celebrity, top level shooters, match directors, trainers, hunters, subject matter experts and all gun enthusiists, and yes we had a woman as well.
I will go into a little more detail, but here is the BIGGIE: Identify your elected officials who are anti-gun and or who appear prone to vote anti-gun and write letters without ceasing. E-mails are one thing, but we were told in no uncertain terms, that hardcopy letters are better. Faxes and actual mailed letters and LOTS of them. We were also told that every Republican is voting against these bills if they come up for vote. So a nice Thank-you letter to them is worthwhile, but the threatening letters to either side are not a good idea.
Here is another tidibit...this is about ONE issue! The 2nd Amendment "shall not be infringed". I understand the desire by some to tie liberalism, public education, homosexual marriage, abortion etc. into this debate, but realize that this is about ONE issue only, so don't water down the message with piling on at this point. Not that there are not many other pressing issues, but we as gun enthusists don't all agree on those other issues, we do agree on the 2nd Amendment.
Our first meeting was with Representative Rhonda Fields (District 42). She has authored a bill, not yet submitted, and supports all the other gun controls bills. We had a cordial discussion. Her son was murdered as a result of a "hit" and she emotionally blames the "assault weapon" for his death. She admitted to us that she is emotional, and scarred by her circumstances. She said several times that she is "not there yet" in response to questions dealing with the facts related to crime and weapons laws. She is attempting to lead and legislate based purely on emotion, not on facts.
We were asked several times how magazine limits would affect us. While some had different answers, measuring response, this is where I settled. "As an accomplished competitor and trainer, a magazine limit is not a huge issue to me as I can do a mag change in a second, but for my wife, it IS a big deal. I want her to practice hitting the target, not working on mag changes. Limiting capacity of the AR-15 marginalizes the best tool for her to defend herself and my family if I am not there. Of all the weapons we own, an AR-15 with a 30 round magazine is the best defensive tool I can put into a smaller statured persons hands. They have the most confidence and accuracy with that weapon system."
There are some blue-dog deomocrats, but not all of the rural democrats are showing their hands at this point. It appears that the Democratic party has put pressure on them that they will primary them and back a more liberal candidate if they do not support the bills. These deomcrats need support and encouragement to vote against these bills and a showing of support from their constituents that they will support them in the primaries if that threat becomes reality.
Of the bills introduced and yet to be introduced, There are three that appear to have the best chance of passing, Universal background checks, increased training for CCW and the 10 round mag capacity limit. What became clear is that 1 or 2 will most likely pass. They "feel" they have to do something and Hickenlooper appears to desire the national spotlight as well as a national office in the future. That may be the saving grace related to the 10 round magazine limit.
The Senate president is an ex-police cheif of Fountain. I beleive that articulate responses from fellow LEOs may have some direct benefit.
The support of us being there and thanking them led one senator to tear up and give us all hugs as we left. There are some awesome elected officials fighting hard for us down under the gold dome, but they also need support and we appear to have given them a needed boost on Friday.
We spoke with some other groups, including RMGO while we were there. One thing is apparent, some "gun ethusists" are doing more damage than good and those in the fight have to spend time undoing messes created by those who should probably just write a short direct letter every day and nothing else. Even gun-grabber deomcrats are people and personal attacks go nowhere. Their arguments are weak strawman arguments easily refuted, so keep up the letters.
Here is a talking point list vetted through national discourse and provided by Michael Bane:
- The AR-15 dominates competition, especially in Colorado, which is one of the top states in the country for all shooting competitions. That includes 3-Gun competition (the fastest growing shooting sport in America) and traditional target shoots like the Camp Perry National Matches, which started in 1903.
- The AR-15 is a superb self-defense weapon, in fact, my personal choice for home defense. After careful analysis of penetration, the chance the round might exit a house, etc., much of which we’ve shown on the shows, we concluded the AR platform in 5.56, the standard caliber, was a far better choice for home defense than a shotgun with buckshot or even a handgun.
- The AR-15 platform is superb as a hunting firearm, both for pest/varmints, a major Colorado hunting activity, and, in heavier calibers, for big game such as mule dear and elk. Because the caliber can be easily changed without the necessity of a gunsmith, it is the most versatile rifle made. A hunter can have “uppers” in different calibers suited to the game he or she wants to hunt. The rifles are impervious to weather, light, extremely accurate and easily fitted with scopes or other specialty sights.
- The AR-15 platform is the overwhelming choice for plinkers, casual shooters...literally hundreds of thousands in Colorado! The AR15 is the quintessential “Colorado truck gun,” just like the Winchester ’94 lever action was my father’s (and his father’s) truck gun in rural Tennessee when I was growing up. It is the gun that rides in the work truck because it is nearly indestructible and serves the farmer and rancher as well as the casual shooter.
The AR platform is ergonomic and adjustable by the owner rather than sending it out to an expensive gunsmith. One gun can fit a small framed woman or the Incredible Hulk. The gun is designed to be easy to shoot...in fact, as an instructor, I now use AR platform guns to introduce newbies to shooting.
Suffice to say AR platform rifles may look like military rifles, but they are no different from rifles that have been available to American citizens since the dawn of the 20th Century. Because a civilian firearm looks like a military weapon doesn't mean that it is the equivalent of that military weapon. It turns out that everyone wearing Peyton Manning jerseys do not in fact play for the Broncos.
On magazine restrictions:
On the issue of “high capacity” magazines, ultimately ALL firearms are designed to be reloaded quickly and efficiently under fire, because all firearms are, at their roots, “military-derived." It takes me about a second and a half to reload a semiauto pistol or rifle; about the same time to reload an ancient double-barreled shotgun. And learning to reload a firearm isn’t NEARLY as complicated as learning to drive, and I have it on good authority that many people of all ages, races, gender and socioeconomic strata actually drive every day!
There are maybe 150 million or more magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds in the United States. Most semiauto pistols and rifles are supplied as standard with magazine capacities greater than the arbitrary number of "10." Approximately 2.5 million AR-15 magazines are presently back-ordered...many of those to MagPul, a company based in Erie, CO, and founded by elite Special Forces soldiers. Magazines are simple tech...a metal (or plastic) box with a spring in it. They don’t carry serial numbers, nor can their date of manufacture be accurately determined.
When we talk about banning objects that are right now legal, in widespread, common distribution, and popular with a majority of citizens of the state, with all rhetoric stripped aside, we are talking about door-to-door confiscation. That is the hard, cold bottom line. I think we all understand that this is a nightmare scenario. That is not what I want for Colorado, and I hope that is not what you want for Colorado — or the rest of the United States.
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