Just One Thing: Governor Polis will sign this anti-gun bill
After a bunch of modifications that the true gun-haters are probably very disappointed with, Colorado Senate Bill 25-003 (also called SB3) remains a harmful, dangerous, and potentially unconstitutional (but not as obviously unconstitutional as the original version) mess. It is a solution in search of a problem.
I will share with you my note to Governor Polis regarding the bill after he said it doesn't create a gun registry. I will not share anything he sent me. I also note that he did not tell me that he will definitely sign the bill but I strongly believe that he will because it doesn't actually ban whole categories of firearms that many Coloradans already own, which had been a red line for him and it was his veto threat that allowed the bill to end up less terrible than it was, although it's still terrible.
There will be a record at the state of applying to get permission from the sheriff to take the class(es) required buy a firearm. If you tell me “you have to apply with the sheriff but there won’t be a record kept that you did”, I won’t believe you that records will ever be deleted. In fact, the law itself says that “the commission shall establish a firearms training and safety course record fee for a person to be included in the system.”
THAT is the registry, not a record of specifically what you bought. No amount of saying “it’s not a registry” will make that claim true, Jared. Fine, it’s a registry of likely gun buyers rather than just which gun they bought but it’s an irrelevant distinction.
By the way, imagine the bureaucratic burden on sheriffs’ departments if this plays out this way. How much money will taxpayers have to waste to hire new employees to comply with this when budgets are already tight and getting tighter? Law abiding people who want a gun that isn’t as stupid or dangerous as the fixed-mag version (which I suspect won’t even be offered for sale) will have to waste all this time and money, for no gain to society at all. Right now would you propose adding people to state government to deal with paperwork? Hell no…you’re trying to prioritize during a time of cutting budgets or at least cutting budget increases.
Also, the ability of the sheriff, without any judicial oversight, to be able to deny the permission based on his view that “documented previous behavior…makes it likely the person will present a danger to themself or others…” is almost certainly an illegal expansion of Red Flag without due process.
How much money are you willing to have the state spend to defend this law?
This bill is freakin’ crazy and pointless. And you have LOTS of good reasons to veto it. You just need the courage to do the right thing and push back against the lunatics.
Most people who commit crimes with this kind of gun buy them legally. And they would usually be able to get through this process if they wanted to. It’s just an intentional burden on the vast majority of law-abiding people because the Dems in the legislature dislike and don’t understand firearms. AND recent FBI data show that rifles, not all of which fall into the “assault weapon” category that Dems love to panic about, accounted for under 3% of firearm murders. This is an unconstitutional solution in search of a problem.
The Colorado State Shooting Association put out their own thoughts on the bill and it's worth a read: Semi-Auto Ban Clinches Final Approval in the Senate
The other thing to keep in mind: Our next governor may share the anti-gun sentiments of the Dems in the state legislature and they may come back to an outright ban. This is not a small possibility given that our next governor will almost certainly be a Democrat and our legislatures at that time will likely both be Democrat-majority.
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Today's Guests
Steffan Tubbs is the Public Affairs Officer for the Rocky Mountain Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Agency. He's also a former long-time co-host of Colorado's Morning News here on KOA and documentary film maker.
DEA arrests 90+ people in Denver area in less than three weeks
None of the 49 detainees in an Adams County DEA raid are facing charges
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CJ Box is the best-selling author of the Joe Pickett series of novels. Joe is a Wyoming game warden who seems to get caught up in the middle of diabolical criminals and plots and tends to find a way out, with the help of his friends and the ruining of many government vehicles. "Battle Mountain" is the 25th book in the series (a book a year for 25 years!) It's an interesting plot based on disaffected former soldiers wanting to strike a massive blow against "leadership" and elites whom they believe let them down.
Amazon.com: Battle Mountain (A Joe Pickett Novel): 9780593851050: Box, C.J.: Books
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Other Stuff
Good to see them back at work: Colorado King Soopers employees begin return to work after 12-day strike
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Sometimes listener texts stick with me. A listener texted last week with something like this: "If tariffs work for other countries, why wouldn't they work for us?" The question points to just how difficult trade economics is to understand and how widely misunderstood it is (which is understandable). :-)
The short answer is that typically tariffs protect some fairly small number of jobs in a visible and politically connected industry at high cost to lots of other jobs and almost every consumer. They DON'T work for other countries unless you define a country as a steel workers' union or a dairy cooperative rather than everybody who buys cars or drinks milk.
This is the worst, dumbest, most misguided policy imaginable and it's past time for Republicans in Congress to rein in Trump on tariffs: Trump says he's considering auto tariffs in the "neighborhood of 25%"
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Why do these programs even exist? Think about the insane and immoral future taxation of our children in order to pay for all this. Yes, FREEZE THE PROGRAMS using every LEGAL tool you have. $570 million frozen: Here's the list of Colorado programs officials say are impacted following Trump's freeze | Government | denvergazette.com
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Not very important to most Americans perhaps, but it's always infuriated me how much harm the radical environmental left is willing to do to poor people around the world: Let Them Eat Solar Panels (And Efficiency) - Robert Bryce
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This is exactly why I said, some years back when companies started expressing political opinions, that it was a mistake: Shoppers are avoiding certain brands over politics: poll
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The "it's a fake gun" defense works: Jury finds rapper A$AP Rocky not guilty in gun assault trial
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On the surface, it would seem that the treatment of that girl is wrong. Here's the issue: Being a transplant recipient and on immunosuppressants increases the risk of severe illness or death from COVID (and, I presume, from the flu) so the purpose of the vaccine requirement is to make sure the patient lives (and a transplanted organ isn't wasted), and not a typical form of "vaccine mandate" that so many people grew to despise during COVID: JD Vance’s relative denied heart transplant over COVID-19 vaccine prompts House bill
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Ezra Klein gives off the strongest possible "millennial hipster" vibe and I generally don't like him. That said, other than a very stupid analysis at the beginning about Trump somehow missing an opportunity to work with Democrats, the rest of his assessment is pretty on-target:
In a moment I'll mention some good things about our current president, but first this:
Trump supporters are making excuses for this, with excuses like "no president who is saving the country would break a law". I'm not buying it, nor attempts to convince me that it was a joke. I think this is one of the worst things an American president has ever said:
I tire of Democrats constantly yelling "fascist!" about Trump. That tweet is as close to fascist as I've ever heard from an American president and reminds me most of all of Louis XIV of France who is famously reputed to have said (but maybe didn't really say), "L'Etat, c'est moi" meaning "I am the state" (with "state" meaning nation). I like the concept in any case. (Not the concept that one ruler is the nation but the concept that a ruler might think that way.)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY CAROLE LANDRY : " Louis XIV exhibition looks at the arts behind the grandeur". A picture taken on October 16, 2009 shows a bust of Louis XIV by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini aka the Bernin (1665) displayed at the Versailles castle, outside Paris, as part of the "Louis XIV, the Man and the King" exhibition. Historians know him as the Sun King who ruled France for 72 years and made Versailles a European centre of power, but Louis XIV owes his royal grandeur to artists perhaps more than armies. The exhibition, which goes beyond Louis XIV's public image to explore his personal tastes, will open on October 20, 2009 through February 7, 2010. AFP PHOTO FRANCOIS GUILLOT (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP via Getty Images)Photo: FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP / Getty Images
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Yes, make it a requirement! Colorado students may be required to take a financial literacy course to graduate high school - The Colorado Sun
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We've been following this story a bit more than the average talk show, I think. Good riddance: Amid ethics investigation and alleged fabricated letter of support, Colorado Sen. Lewis resigns - Rocky Mountain Voice
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On the one hand, this is a great goal. On the other hand, whether it comes to this or transgender medical care or plastic straws, it's nuts that anyone thinks this is a thing the federal government should be involved with. To be clear, I'm not saying Trump is the instigator of excessive federal involvement in things it should have nothing to do with. I'm just commenting on that unfortunate situation: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Expands Access to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) – The White House
What to know about IFV after Trump's executive order | AP News
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This is the single most important domestic priority: reducing the size, scope, and cost of government and Trump should use every legal tool in his toolchest to achieve it. BUT he'd be MUCH better off it he got some laws passed that ensconced at least some changes into law. Otherwise, the next Democratic president, probably slightly more than 50% likely to be the next president rather than a Republican, will just undo as much as possible: Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies – The White House
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The governor of New York might, for the first time in the state's history, remove the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, after the Trump DOJ appears to corruptly move to drop charges against Adams.
Gov. Hochul meets leaders as she weighs removing Mayor Eric Adams from office | AP News
Sassoon letter | DocumentCloud
Chris Christie: Eric Adams and Equality Under the Law
Will Gov. Kathy Hochul remove NYC Mayor Eric Adams from office?
DOJ’s Eric Adams Dismissal Heading for Constitutional Controversy | National Review (may require subscription)
5 Factors That May Shape Hochul’s Decision on Adams’s Fate - The New York Times (may require subscription)
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One could argue that it's appropriate for Ukraine to have elections after the war, but including that as a provision in peace talks is truly insane. I understand Team Trump wanting to play a little nice with Putin to try to reach a deal but they're already going too far in conceding even willingness to consider this, and I'm sure it will get worse. The question is whether they're playing some sort of game or really mean this stuff.
Actually, the tweet below is one thing and then this one popped up on my radar: 'You could have made a deal': Trump blames Ukraine after US-Russia talks
More: Zelensky says Trump lives in ‘disinformation space’
Zelenskyy declines to accept US proposal to access Ukraine's minerals | AP News
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OF COURSE it was illegal: U.S. appeals court blocks Biden SAVE plan for student loans
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I have no idea whether this man's job was a necessary or even nearly-necessary function of the federal government though I suppose that if we have national parks then we have staffing requirements. What I do know is that these sorts of stories carry political power: National Park ranger fired from "dream job" on Valentine's Day pens emotional viral letter: "Things are not ok" - CBS News
There are a lot of these folks in Colorado: More than 150 Forest Service workers lose jobs in Trump cuts
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Today's Video
Radio and electrical/electronics nerds will love this...thanks to the listeners (more than one) who sent it!