Yesterday I sent out an email announcing the time and places for the hearings on the gun control bills before the Senate. They changed the starting time, moving it up to 10:30 AM on Monday morning, March 4. If you plan on attending (which I recommend for everyone) please adjust your schedule accordingly. These hearings are still expected to last all day and possibly late into the evening.
As a citizen your greatest opportunity to weigh in on this string of bad bills is at these public hearings on Monday. Hearings for both the Judiciary and the State Affairs committees begin at 10:30 AM in the Capitol. To testify you have to sign in at the hearing room. The sign in sheet should be available at 10:00 AM, but I expect there will be a line forming well before that and there will not be enough time for everyone who signs up. Judiciary committee is hearing SB-195, 196, and 197 and HB-1224 in the Old Supreme Court Chambers. State Affairs committee is hearing HB-1229, 1228, and 1226 (in that order) in Senate Committee Room 356. I recommend coming early, to find a place to sit, find a place to park your car, and get in line to sign up to testify (if you want to testify). It will be a long day, and one that will have great impact on our future freedoms and security.
Here is a brief description of all the bills:
HB 1224: Bans magazines with a capacity of more than 15 bullets. Magazines owned prior to the ban can be kept but cannot be transferred or sold. (Judiciary)
HB 1226: Prohibits concealed carry on public college campuses. (State Affairs)
HB 1228: Charges fees for background checks. (State Affairs)
HB 1229: Requires a background check to be conducted by a licensed firearms dealer before any sale or transfer of a firearm. “Transfer” includes lending a firearm to a friend. (State Affairs)
SB 195: requires concealed carry permit applicants to complete training in-person. This bill bans online instruction. (Judiciary)
SB 196: makes users, owners, sellers, distributors, and manufacturers of semi-automatic firearms liable for harm caused by any firearm that was under their control at one point in time and is later misused by someone else. (Judiciary)
SB 197: prohibits people who have committed domestic violence offense from possessing firearms, including both misdemeanor and felony offenses. People charged with these crimes must relinquish all firearms they possess."
IF each bill goes the full four hours, then the following is what calendar MIGHT look like. Obviously, IF any bill is heard for LESS than the allotted four hours, then the following times would change accordingly.
State Affairs Committee (Senate Committee RM 356, third floor of the Capitol)
*10:30-2:30
HB 1229 - Universal Background Checks
*2:30-6:30
HB 1228 - Background fees
*6:30-10:30
HB 1226 - Prohibiting Concealed Carry on college campus
Judiciary Committee (Old Supreme Court Chambers, second floor of the Capitol)
*10:30-2:30
SB 197 - Prohibition of gun possession while under a restraining order
Late Friday Senator Ted Harvey has posted on his Facebook page yet again another change in how and when the Colorado senate hearings will be handled Monday. Please read and attend if at all possible. [Because of the length the message is divided to 2 parts.] (part 1 of 2)
The Democrat leadership has changed the process for the gun hearings AGAIN. It appears they are now going to take testimony and vote on each bill one at a time. They are giving the opposition three minutes for each witness, for a total of 90 minutes, followed by the pr...oponents being given their 90 minutes. Following the public testimony, the committee members will then debate/discuss each bill prior to the vote, and then proceed to the next bill. So, I would assume each bill will take a minimum of 3.5 to 4 hours each. To make matters worse, they have rearranged the order of bills on the calendar and have moved HB 1226, the concealed carry bill, to the very end of the State Affairs Committee calendar. Therefore, if we start at 10:30 and take four hours each on the first two bills, we would not get to the concealed carry bill, the most publically controversial bill the committee until 6:30PM. I believe the Democrats have purposely scheduled the calendar in this manner to ensure that the most powerful testimony of the day will not occur until it is too late for the afternoon news.
Needless to say I am getting just a little frustrated with the way the Democrat leadership is changing the rules of the game every 24 hours.
W. Branstetter
Senator Kevin Lundberg writes:
"1. Gun Bill Hearings
Yesterday I sent out an email announcing the time and places for the hearings on the gun control bills before the Senate. They changed the starting time, moving it up to 10:30 AM on Monday morning, March 4. If you plan on attending (which I recommend for everyone) please adjust your schedule accordingly. These hearings are still expected to last all day and possibly late into the evening.
As a citizen your greatest opportunity to weigh in on this string of bad bills is at these public hearings on Monday. Hearings for both the Judiciary and the State Affairs committees begin at 10:30 AM in the Capitol. To testify you have to sign in at the hearing room. The sign in sheet should be available at 10:00 AM, but I expect there will be a line forming well before that and there will not be enough time for everyone who signs up. Judiciary committee is hearing SB-195, 196, and 197 and HB-1224 in the Old Supreme Court Chambers. State Affairs committee is hearing HB-1229, 1228, and 1226 (in that order) in Senate Committee Room 356.
I recommend coming early, to find a place to sit, find a place to park your car, and get in line to sign up to testify (if you want to testify). It will be a long day, and one that will have great impact on our future freedoms and security.
Here is a brief description of all the bills:
HB 1224: Bans magazines with a capacity of more than 15 bullets. Magazines owned prior to the ban can be kept but cannot be transferred or sold. (Judiciary)
HB 1226: Prohibits concealed carry on public college campuses. (State Affairs)
HB 1228: Charges fees for background checks. (State Affairs)
HB 1229: Requires a background check to be conducted by a licensed firearms dealer before any sale or transfer of a firearm. “Transfer” includes lending a firearm to a friend. (State Affairs)
SB 195: requires concealed carry permit applicants to complete training in-person. This bill bans online instruction. (Judiciary)
SB 196: makes users, owners, sellers, distributors, and manufacturers of semi-automatic firearms liable for harm caused by any firearm that was under their control at one point in time and is later misused by someone else. (Judiciary)
SB 197: prohibits people who have committed domestic violence offense from possessing firearms, including both misdemeanor and felony offenses. People charged with these crimes must relinquish all firearms they possess."
Mar 1, 2013
W. Branstetter
[Senator Ted Harvey part 2 of 2]
Mar 1, 2013
W. Branstetter
Late Friday Senator Ted Harvey has posted on his Facebook page yet again another change in how and when the Colorado senate hearings will be handled Monday. Please read and attend if at all possible. [Because of the length the message is divided to 2 parts.] (part 1 of 2)
Mar 1, 2013