“It’s one thing for a deliberately polarizing legislator like Morse to lose a close race in a swing district. It’s quite another for Giron to lose by 12 points in a district that is 47% Democratic and 23% Republican. One reason is that in blue collar districts like Pueblo, there are plenty of Democrats who cling to their Second Amendment rights. As the Denver Post noted, 20% of the voters who signed the Giron recall petitions were Democrats.” – Dave Kopel in The Colorado Recalls Explained [at volokh.com]

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

36 COMMENTS

  1. I tried to post a link to that Volokh article yesterday but couldn’t. Its a good analysis. The last paragraph nails it.

  3. It has been well reported that Giron has been out of favor do to some water rights issues as well. While no doubt many voted for their guns, many may have also voted for their water as well

    • By joining with Morse on blowing past Colorado political procedures she may have sent a message that her constituents aren’t important to her. I’m sure the gun issue didn’t help, but in general she did a great job of ignoring the people who put her in office.

      Although a lot of Democrats seem oblivious to the fact that gun rights is not actually a red vs. blue issue.

      • Yeah, a lot of non-Democrats do that as well.

        It’s easier to paint a whole group with a broad brush as being “not of my tribe” than to actually make the brain burn a few calories analyzing relevant data.

        People who spout “all Democrats hate freedom” or “Republicans hate women” are useless, intellectually lazy and dangerous.

        • Well, what I should have said was “Democratic Politicians”

          However, you are on the money. I keep running into conservatives that are surprised there are liberals that shoot. It’s really not uncommon.

          Gun control is a very loud minority supported issue. Sometimes I think it’s not an “enthusiasm gap” but that gun grabbers are just really outnumbered.

        • You are entirely correct that not all Democrat voters have the same beliefs, and that many of them are strong 2A supporters. Unfortunately, whether a Democrat politician is voted in by people who like guns, hate guns, don’t care about guns, have wind farms as their primary focus, only care about gay marriage, want everyone to be mandated by law to drive a Prius, or any other reason, they tend to vote in lockstep with whatever the Party says.

          For better or for worse, Republicans in office don’t show anything like the same kind of unity. Perhaps this is morally better, if they are each trying to represent their constituents, or voting their conscience, but in practice it lets a lot more bad law through.

          Edit- just read Mina’s post, perhaps this happens most strongly at the national level. After all, we have a mostly Democrat state here in WA, but the gun laws aren’t that bad.

        • Hasdrubal, you are right about that in WA, but it certainly isn’t because the libs don’t keep trying. They just keep running into that damned state constitution provision that says whatever they’re proposing can’t be done without violating the constitution. Without that we’d be as screwed as California and even though I’m permitted and it’s legal I’m still nervous carrying in Seattle.

      • Yeah, that’s not unique to Democrats.

        A great many folks of whatever political bent are loathe to make their brains burn a couple Calories and sift relevant data, opting instead for the jingoistic reaction of “not my tribe.”

        These people are intellectually lazy, easily led and dangerous.

        • This is so true. I’ve pointed it out before and I’ll point it out again: Illinois would not be on its way to legitamate conceal carry without our very strongly pro-2A Democratic state senators and reps from downstate.

          Had we disenfranchised them simply due to their party affiliation, where would we be now? In California?

    • While no doubt many voted for their guns, many may have also voted for their water as well

      Maybe, but nobody signed any recall petitions after she voted to dehydrate her constituents. They only signed after she voted to disarm them.

  4. The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was the secondmost important reason why Morse and Giron were removed from office. The first reason was the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment principle of Due Process of Law. The opportunity to be heard is the fundamental to Due Process of Law, and not solely in adjudications. When Morse and Giron squelched the testimony of law-abiding citizens and of law-enforcing Sheriffs, they grossly abused their constitutional office of being law-makers. And so, for abuse of office, John Morse and Angela Giron have been recalled from office by the People of Colorado, to be replaced by legislators who will listen before the vote.

    Politicians know one thing, how to adapt and deceive. While much of the ire around Morse was when he told fellow legislators not to pay attention to emails and voicemails etc. All these anti-gun legislators will do next time is allow the testimony to go longer, and simply ignore it much like they did in CT.

    The only way to prevent this from happening again, is to do the work to keep them out of office in the first place.

    • I think this is the important pull quote from that article. We want this to be about guns, and it is, but for many people the “purposefully ignored their constituents” issue was either more important than or completely excluded the guns issue.

      • Yeah.

        I’m not big on attacking a person’s looks, but whitening those chompers is like swabbing the decks after striking the scuttling bungs.

  6. I still say it’s not so much the WHAT of what laws they passed, anti-gun, but more the HOW they passed it, namely by completely ignoring their constituents. I would like to hope that the people of Colorado would have stood up had they passed equally ludicrous legislation on any other topic.

  7. The only way that these “gun control” clowns win arguments is by not having them. As bad as Morse and Giron were in actively ignoring their constituents, the jerks here in NY were even worse. Too bad we don’t have a means of attempting it here.

  8. Great. Now can we please see fewer “Democrats are the enemy” posts?

    Y’all know why hemp is illegal? It’s really easy to hide marijuana plants in a hemp crop because they look substantially the same. They are different, however.

    Statists for the most part find it easier to hide among Democrats, although other political families sport their own brands of Statist parasites as well.

    Let’s call a spade a spade, shall we, rather than lumping in all the shooters, hoes, mattocks and so on as well?

    Quoth Sam Brownback “This [defense of 2A] is not a partisan issue in Kansas.”

    ‘Twould appear that’s true in Colorado as well.

    In my experience, it’s mostly an urban/rural thing, with a healthy smattering of 2A friendlies in smaller or more remote cities as well.

    Know thy enemy, eh?

    • Now can we please see fewer “Democrats are the enemy” posts?

      Not from me. Saying someone is a “good” Democrat is like saying there are good Communists and good Nazis. I’m not buying it.

      The Democrat national platform is built on taking away our guns. It’s virtually unchanged since 2000. http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/democratic_party_gun_control.htm
      A Democrat who doesn’t support the party position on guns is ineligible for Bloomberg money.

      The Republican national platform affirms gun rights. http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/republican_party_gun_control.htm
      Any Republican who doesn’t support the platform is a RINO.

      • And any Democrat who doesn’t support the Constitution and personal liberties is a DINO.

        I live in state with a sizable Democratic minority, and the debates over social programs, highway funding, school lunches and so on can get quite lively, but there’s no name-calling and it stays quite collegial.

        Here the difference between Red and Blue is the divide between Hamilton and Jefferson: large government partnered with industry versus small government.

        Both sides however believe firmly in constitutionally limited government.

        It amazes me how many social conservatives support gun rights, which are basically a personal liberty, and how many social liberals don’t.

        I’ll agree that a great many Democrats from “those other places” take the same liberties with the Constitution that the Religious Right take with Leviticus, but your conditioned responses do not apply to me or mine.

        Lastly, there’s not one cent of Bloomberg money anywhere in Kansas, and many Blues here are perfectly happy to do without any DNC money thanks to their spitting on the Party Line.

        I’ll reluctantly grant that there are more DINOs than RINOs, but that goes back to the hemp allegory. It’s damned embarrassing, truth be told.

        However, people who spout “all Democrats hate guns” or “all Rebublicans hold women in contempt” are intellectually lazy, easily led and dangerous.

        The Party Line, right or left, doesn’t speak for all — especially hereabouts.

        And what about that cornbread stuffing recipe, drat it?

        • The Democratic Party platform includes advocating for renewing the AWB and closing the “gun show loophole”. So how is a Democrat who supports this platform a “DINO” again? Maybe you can argue they aren’t “liberals” in the classical sense of the word, but they are definitely Democrats when they agree with the Democratic platform.

        • In that they’ve coopted and abrogated the name, and are antithetical to Democracy — defined as government by, of and for the people.

          They, the DNC and their party line toers, are all DINOs.

          There are a lot of “real” Democrats, but we are a distinct minority.

  10. Those two IDIOTS need to move to east LA or Nyc, so they can become victims of crime with no recourse just like they tried to propagate on everybody else!

  12. Glad the voters of Colorado voted her and Morse out,the liberals still haven’t gotten the message yet though.They are playing the blame game as to why,and bringing up the “the majority want more gun control,” well look at this recall and the odds just aren’t in your favor!I believe at face value ya’ll ain’t right,most of the voters don’t want more gun control.I also believe that some of these Reps and Senators won’t have a job come next election,and the Governor will be looking too.Best thing they can do now is repeal the gun laws they passed,or look for new job.Be prepared and ready.Keep your powder dry.

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