Republican state representatives in Colorado have joined forces with a gun rights group to sue the state’s Democratic governor for what they claim were unconstitutional actions during the passage of controversial “red flag” legislation.
“Democrats used illegal and unconstitutional tactics and methods to push a bill that would remove the due process of our citizens,” said Dudley Brown, the Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. “In other words, they violated due process at both ends.”
The lawsuit claims that House Democrats violated the Colorado constitution by not allowing the text of the red flag bill to be read in full. The constitution states that “Every bill shall be read… at length on two different days in each house,” and the full reading can only be dispensed with upon the “unanimous consent of the members present.”
On the day of red flag bill’s passage (House Bill 1177), Representative Steven Humphrey requested that the bill be read in full. But the Democratic majority ordered several House clerks to begin reading different sections of the bill at once to speed up the process.
Humphrey withdrew his motion, but state representatives Lori Saine and Dave Williams made identical requests, both of which were denied. The GOP lawsuit argues that the denial amounts to a violation of Colorado’s constitution, and the red flag bill is therefore invalid.
“At no time was the complete text of HB 1177 read at length in the Colorado House of Representatives, the suit concludes.
SEE ALSO: Colorado Gov. Signs ‘Red Flag’ Law: Everytown Gloats, Sheriff Vows Non-Compliance
Colorado Democrats dispute the claim, arguing that they complied with the first request for the bill to be read at length.
“Despite claims during the lawsuit announcement that the Majority party failed to read the bill at length, the bill was indeed read at length when the motion was properly made until the motion was withdrawn by the requestor, in accordance with the rules of the legislature,” House Democrats said in a statement.
“No one came to me on the floor and said that they wanted the chair to do anything differently than what had been done,” Sen. Majority Leader Alec Garnett added. “This is not about what happened on the floor. This is about the gun lobby trying to unwind a very popular measure to help protect and save lives here in Colorado because they liked to build their name recognition and like to be in the news.”
SEE ALSO: Tucker Takes a Stand Against Gun Confiscation: ‘I would never give up my gun’
But this wouldn’t be the first time Colorado Democrats used less-than-ethical tactics to speed up a bill read. Senate Republicans filed another lawsuit about a different bill, which Democrats “read” by setting up a bank of five computers to read the bill in a completely unintelligible way.
In that case, a Denver District Court judge ultimately sided with the GOP and said bill readings have to be understandable.
As we reported at the time of its passage, Colorado’s red flag law poses considerable due process concerns for gun owners due to the law’s low evidentiary standards. It’s set to go into effect on January 1, 2020.
So popular that half the sheriffs in the state are refusing to enforce it?? Several countries have named themselves 2nd amendment sanctuary countries. Oh they must have meant popular with government not the population they serve. The disconnect between government, and population gets bigger everyday.
What\’s next? Arrest bar patrons as they enter a bar because they might drive impaired. Let\’s arrest reporters because they might slander someone. Let\’s arrest someone buying ski masks because they might rob a bank or gas station.
The Red Flag laws are a slippery slope and must be over turned!!
It isn’t lost on me that Democrats everywhere engage in undemocratic actions in order to push their pet legislation. A man with common sense would see that and avoid them like a plague.