Colorado’s Secretary of state has approved language for petitions to recall Senate President John Morse and state Rep. Mike McLachian. Both democrats are from hotly contested districts and their anti-gun votes will likely cost them their seats.

Voters are also pursuing recalls for Sen Evie Hudak and state Rep. Rhonda Fields and considering filing a petition to recall governor John Hickenlooper.

Rep. Fields sponsored the very unpopular 15 round magazine limit legislation. She is notorious for her outright gun-grabbing stance on the second amendment. During the push for the anti-gun bills, Fields remarked, ”The objective is to get the guns out of the home.”

Sen. Hudak had an equally troubling public event during the democrat-pushed anti-gun effort. During a hearing on concealed carry on college campuses, Hudak told a rape victim that her attack would likely have been worse if she had tried to defend herself by carrying a concealed firearm. Then stating a now proven false statistic, Hudak argued with the rape victim “I just want to say that actually statistics are not on your side…the Colorado Coalition Against Gun Violence says that for every one woman who used a handgun to kill someone in self-defense, 83 were murdered by them.”

Of course, the way Hudak expressed the statistic, she makes it sound as though the victims own guns were turned on them. As several news agencies have reported, Hudak contorted 1998 FBI statistics to say something they actually didn’t say at all.

Colorado voters have come together to form the Basic Freedom Defense Fund to coordinate the recall effort. Headquartered in Grand Junction, CO, the group’s website says, “The Basic Freedom Defense Fund is a non-profit dedicated to holding our elected representatives here in the state of Colorado RESPONSIBLE and ACCOUNTABLE for the things they do in office, and to ensure the defense of our freedoms and civil rights.”

Colorado voters aren’t the only ones organizing. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been spending millions during the 2013 anti-gun effort and is likely to fund groups like “A Whole Lot of People for John Morse” which is hoping to defend Sen. Morse during the recall.

magpul colorado

Gun accessory manufacturer Magpul has moved the manufacture of two of its most popular products to other states.

After Colorado passed a law making any magazines over 15 rounds illegal, Magpul vowed to move some or all of its manufacturing out-of-state. Now, the accessory maker is living up to the promise.

Magpul is now making PMags, magazines that can hold 10 t0 30 rounds, outside of the Centennial State for the first time.

Moving magazine production isn’t the final action that Magpul is taking. It has also moved it’s rifle sight production to another state and is currently looking for a new home for its headquarters.

The accessory maker is also expected to announce further details on its plans after this weekend’s National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Houston, TX.

HiViz Shooting Systems Announces Relocation Plans

PRESS RELEASE: April 1, 2013, Fort Collins, CO—HiViz Shooting Systems (a division of North Pass Ltd.), announces plans to relocate operations out of the state of Colorado due to recent changes in Colorado state gun control legislation.  HiViz President and CEO Phillip Howe, states that talks are currently under way with officials of a neighboring state regarding the move.

Mr. Howe comments, “I make this announcement with mixed emotions. Colorado is a beautiful state with great people, but we cannot in clear conscience support with our taxes a state that has proven through recent legislation a willingness to infringe upon the constitutional rights of our customer base.” Mr. Howe notes that prior to the changes in law in Colorado, he made several attempts to persuade state officials via emails and telephone calls to proceed slowly with gun control legislation that would impact individual shooters and the shooting industry as a whole.

Although the relocation will be expensive and time consuming, he adds, “It is in the best interest of our company and our customers.” Starting with corporate headquarters, the operations will be moved over an extended period of time ensuring no interruption of services to its customer base, and HiViz states that the majority of its employees will make the move with the corporate operations. More details regarding the location and timing of the relocation will be announced as details are finalized.

HiViz Shooting Systems manufactures light-gathering sights, recoil pads and accessories for the shooting industry.

A Colorado school wanted to offer a bridge program to students who needed academic assistance. But when they sent out advertisements to families the program was listed as only open to minority children. A point which was reiterated by the principal. However, following backlash from parents and the media, the district changed it mind and the program is now open to all students who need help.

A few years ago my daughter was involved as teacher in a bridge program also designed to help minority students transition into college. The first year the program quickly filled with outstanding students (mostly white) who were looking for a jump start at the university. The program wasn’t reaching it’s designated target. But instead of offering the program to only minorities the administration opened it to those with specific academic recommendations from teachers. One wonders if this Colorado district shouldn’t have done the same.

In less than a week since this nation re-elected Barack Obama, there are calls from numerous States to secede from The United States of America. We are no longer a United Nation. We are very much a Divided Nation. Many are standing together, calling for a peaceful divide.

The famous declaration for unity that you are familiar with has been attributed to Aesop’s fables, as well as John Dickinson’s Revolutionary War song, “The Liberty Song”, which was was published first in the Boston Gazette in 1768.

However, it was Patrick Henry that made the historic exclamation in what was to be his last public speech:

“Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us right hereafter. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.”

Patrick Henry’s declaration came at a very pivotal point in America’s history. It was March 1799, and Mr. Henry was “denouncing The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions”, which argued that the two states “had the right and the duty to declare unconstitutional any acts of Congress not authorized by The Constitution”.

This speech took such a toll on Patrick Henry that after the speech his “near lifeless body” was carried offstage and into the nearest tavern. He died just two months later.

We have now reached another pivotal point in this nation’s history.

In the November 6 election, the divide between the candidates was a little more than 3 million votes. Barack Obama received 61,910,594 votes, and Mitt Romney received 58,654,765 votes. When you look at the total number of votes cast, it is almost a clear cut down the middle. We are most definitely a divided nation. We can no longer stand together, when we are so obviously divided over so many issues. We have reached a breaking point that threatens to be anything but peaceful if things are not handled in a way in which every voice is heard and considered.

Citizens in Louisiana are now petitioning the White House to “Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America”. The petition was created the day after the election, and has nearly 8,000 signatures in just 5 days.

It appears that this petition from Louisiana was the first of many to have been submitted to the “We The People” site on the official White House website. The site claims to be “Your Voice In OUR Government”. The question remains whether or not the Government will hear the many voices being raised. It is highly doubtful, as they have turned their noses up in arrogance towards We The People numerous times before.

It’s not just the state of Louisiana, the list of State Petitions calling to peacefully “withdraw from the United States of America” is growing by the day.

Country singer Charlie Daniel’s is suggesting that “the South” secede from The Union; however, there are Northern States that are not so happy with the government, and are also calling to leave the Union. At the time of this article’s posting, the states with open petitions are the following:

Alabama
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Kentucky
Mississippi
Montana
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oregon
Texas 

“Why should Vermont and Texas live under the same government?”

The winds of change are coming. The echoing calls to seperate are growing louder and stronger.

Barack Obama claimed in both victory speeches that we are not “a collection of Red States and Blue States, but we are The United States”. These words are empty and mean nothing coming from a man who has done so much to divide this nation. The people are not happy. We are no longer united. We The People are standing, asking to peacefully divide from the albatross that is Barack Obama. If the request is not considered, it very well may come as a demand, which will not be so peaceful.

Image via mikechurch.com

To give you some scope, here’s a panoramic shot of the crowd (click on the image to pan 360 degrees). Notice how far back the crowd went (actually you can’t tell because they go further than the camera could capture.)

If Obama has done nothing else, he has galvanized Americans against him.

Flying into Denver during the debate drubbing of Obama on Jet Blue was quite the experience. I haven’t seen that many jaws open since I took my kids to a government-run clinic to get them screened for strep throat. Hundreds of passengers with their own personal tv sets flipping from channel to channel, desperately wondering what happened to President Kardashian and that maybe this was an SNL skit… gone right.

Landing at Denver International Airport and taking a look outside made one instantly fathom the X-files-like appeal of the joint. I don’t know if the murals in the baggage claim section were painted by Salvadore Dali possessed by the spirit of Joseph Goebbels, but “the truth is out there.”

Met up with the overly sassy Michelle Ray aka Galtsgirl at the Crowne Plaza and the inappropriately debonaire VodkaPundit Stephen Greene was already disputing his liquor tab with two hapless barmaids. Eye Desert was mulling whether or not he wanted to finish his chicken quesadillas, which we later found out to our chagrin had a dash of salmonella.

The morning came crisp as a Mitt Romney tie and we filed into the Michelle Ray mom-mobile for a venture from the Fort Collins area down to the godawfully early conference. We set up at the pre-arranged booths, and I snagged a table in the corner to hock my new book and do some emergency blogging. You’d never guess how looking completely innocuous and disinterested is like a giant magnet for all the most “colorful” characters in attendance.

But Exhibition Row was also loaded with fresh-faced, doe-eyed coeds looking for some resume padding. As if Eye Desert didn’t have trouble concentrating already. We moved to the main conference room just in time to catch the scintillating Marco Rubio. But an odd thing happened just before Mitt Romney’s awesome surprise visit: Michelle Ray ran off muttering something about going to give her dogs a bath. Those are some lucky dogs.

On the way to lunch I bumped into some smartass leftists guerrilla interviewing a seasoned citizen for an online video. Unfortunately for them, the lady was from Castroite Cuba and she sent the young communist ideologues packing with some juice boxes and a motherly swat on the butt.

The afternoon meant a lot of hobnobbing with media types from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post and so forth and some wonkish convo and what-not. By the time of the evening festivities, everyone was good and sauced-up from the VIP get-together, and the usual suspects were meeting up with Tabitha Hale at a local joint Bar Louie.

The virtually open bar situation was probably not the wisest idea, seeing that price is a natural barrier to alcohol-related stupidity. After everybody was liquored up, ToraRadical felt compelled to bust out a rhyme, causing my G&T to crash onto the table with a cry of “Gin Check!” Idiots and alcohol have a way of finding each other.

After-hours meant a bunch of smart people acting stupidly. Guy Benson from Townhall came up with some NC-17 rated campaign advice for Romney, wordplaying on the body part that rhymes with “Mitts.” There was also more flirtation going on than a Sadie Hawkins dance invitational at an all-girls Catholic School.

In the wee hours, the conference attendees were either sick or engaged in extra-curricular activities. As for myself, I had Long Island ice-tea’d my way out of commission and was cat-dragged to the van along with Eye Desert for a return to my surprisingly girly accommodations.

Beyond the strictly by-the-book aspects of the conference was the more important part: Meeting up with hundreds of other patriots who care greatly about the future of the nation.

Yet it wasn’t the presentations or the momentary exchanges with media figures that made a more lasting impression, but the chance for less superficial conversation with others at Conservative Daily News. It was spending time engaged in deeper-than-usual discussion with Eye Desert and Michelle Ray that drastically changed my life for the better and my attitude towards conferences in general. I can’t wait for the next CPAC in March.

Michelle Ray, Kyle Becker and EyeDesert are covering CPAC for Conservative Daily News. Check back with CDN for more CPAC coverage!

Mitt Romney made a surprise stop at CPAC Colorado, fresh off of his trouncing of Obama at the Denver debates. Flanked by four of his sons, Mitt extolled the virtues of the free enterprise system and reiterated that “trickle down government” never works.

Instead, Mitt Romney laid out a vision of the country’s future where wealth and jobs were generated by freedom. It was a theme reinforced by the rousing stemwinder given by Marco Rubio, who had spoken moments earlier.

Far from deviating from specifics, both Rubio and Romney explained the real world consequences of an economy dominated by government. Both explained with illustrative examples that small businesses need transparency, freedom, and a stable regulatory regime in order to plan for the future and generate jobs.

Obama showed weakness in the Denver debate explaining his economic plans for the next four years and while defending an indefensible record. The president oftentimes complained about problems that he had every opportunity to fix the first two years of his presidency, such as fixing corporate loopholes and lowering corporate taxes. America has the highest corporate taxes in the developed world; nearly twice the OECD average.

But far from extolling the virtues of corporatism, Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio have taken positions that advance freedom and not big corporate interests. Rubio explained clearly how big government leads to corruption, and that America has been exceptional in world history because it has not been dominated by a select few. Instead, competition allows those who are poor and determined to advance with their dreams. Mitt Romney, for his part, criticized the Federal Reserve for temporarily propping up the economy.

These are far from the talking points of corporatists and status quo moderates. Of course, libertarians may believe that meaningful change advancing the cause of liberty cannot come soon enough. But the Republican leadership is changing the conversation in this country with a meaningful and obviously sincere endorsement of freedom. And that is the first step towards changing the nation’s politics.

Video H/T Revealing Politics

This will also be the first time many non-Republicans will get to see Mitt Romney in action. Tonight will be an opportunity for Romney to show America his “real” personality as opposed to what gets shown on the biased evening news reports from a negligent (yes, I used the word again because it cannot be overstated) national media. If played right, this could be Romney’s Reagan moment. Just like Reagan did in 1980 when running against Carter, Romney could have the opportunity to show a lighter side than has been painted in the media; to break away from the “evil Republican” caricature and give Americans the opportunity to say “Gee, I never realized he was such a likable guy”.

Already the mainstream media and the Obama campaign (one in the same, basically) have been hard at work lowering expectations for his performance tonight. There is no doubt that this debate is Romney’s to lose…but then again, Republicans have always been good at securing defeat from the jaws of victory.

There should be no issues finding a broadcast to watch this evening as nearly every major station will be covering the event, but here is a link to one live stream if you prefer to watch online. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter as I’ll be live-tweeting the debate tonight and that is ALWAYS entertaining. You can follow me @kiradavis422 or just click on the Twitter button right here on the site to get connected.

An unsuccessful lawsuit from Planned Parenthood shortened the petitioning time by about 60 days, giving the Colorado Personhood Coalition fewer petitioning days than any other Colorado ballot initiative. In spite of this, the Personhood Coalition collected over 112,000 signatures, about 30,000 more than signatures collected in 2010.

Other initiatives were also granted a 15 day curing period to make up lost or invalidated signatures, which the Colorado Personhood Coalition was denied.

After turning in far more than the number of signatures required for ballot placement, the Secretary of State’s office determined that the amendment could not appear on the ballot, discounting over 6,800 registered voters’ signatures.

“The Secretary of State’s actions unconstitutionally deprived us of our fundamental right under the State and Federal Constitutions to the initiative process which is core political speech,” explained Gualberto Garcia Jones, J.D., legal analyst for Personhood USA. “After being denied the same time frame that every other initiative received, and denied the opportunity to appear on the ballot, we have filed a writ of mandamus to ensure that our rights are recognized and the hard work of our volunteers is not dismissed.”

The Colorado Personhood Coalition’s language is different than any other in the nation, addressing a myriad of issues in detail that have never before been explored, including birth control, IVF, miscarriage, and rape.

The full language is available at personhoodco.com/amendment-text.

“Our nearly 1,500 volunteers worked incredibly hard,” commented Susan Sutherland, Director of the Colorado Personhood Coalition. “Despite the odds, we did the work and got the signatures. We deserve to be on the ballot, and we will not quit until every signature is counted and ultimately, every innocent human life is protected in Colorado.”

UPDATE: Enjoy the replay of 7/22 show here.

Also, Twitter’s “Sean Hannity’s Hair” stops by to discuss the media malpractice and the media bias that led ABC to try and blame an innocent member of the Tea Party for this horrific crime.

And finally (but not least), Tom from Indiana calls in to discuss the merits of changing our gun laws in the wake of this tragic event.  (we also discuss the importance of responsible gun ownership)

This show is packed with terrific insight and lots of honest discussion, and it’s not one to be missed.

CLICK here TO HEAR IT NOW.

And, of course, our hearts go out to the victims of this despicable shooting, and the entire community of Aurora is in our prayers.

At least 20 people were hurt early Friday following a shooting at a movie theater near Denver, police said.

The incident occurred in Aurora, Colo., during a midnight showing of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises,” a police official told NBC News.

Brenda Stuart, of 850 KOA radio, told Britain’s Sky News that “a lot of people thought the gunshots were part of the movie.”

“They heard what they thought were firecrackers,” she added, citing witnesses. ”Then they saw the bullets flying.”

Eyewitness reports said the assailant may have been wearing a gas mask, Stuart said.

Tear gas went off in the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center following the gunfire, Stuart said. She added that bullets had passed from one theater into an adjoining one.

IBtimes.co.uk adds:

Twelve cinema-goers are reported to have been killed and 20 hurt at a cinema in the Colorado city of Aurora during a midnight showing of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.

While Romney decided to skip these three states for others, Santorum used retail politics as he did in Iowa to exactly the same result. Political pundits had proposed that this style of campaigning would be impossible to keep up past Iowa and Santorum has proven that kissing babies and saying hello can still get it done.

Gingrich’s campaign is said to be suffering from financial difficulties and having fared this poorly will certainly make it even more difficult for him to continue. Of the less-effective candidates in these races, Gingrich finished at or near the bottom of all three races while Rep. Ron Paul floated in the middle.

Ron Paul has cash from a very loyal following that will keep him going despite being the only remaining GOP candidate to fail to win at least one primary or caucus event.

It is widely expected that Romney will change tactics to placate the right while going heavily negative on Santorum to remove a stubborn challenger.

Colorado Results (99% reporting 1:32a)

*CDN is calling Colorado for Rick Santorum

Minnesota Results (86% reporting 1:03a)

*CDN is calling Minnesota for Rick Santorum

Missouri Primary Results (100% reporting 1:00a)

*CDN predicts that Rick Santorum has won the Missouri (Beauty Contest) Primary – no delegates to be awarded (caucus to be held later)

Live Blog

1:33 - There is nothing more to see here folks.. it’s over.  Go to sleep… really (Ferris rocks!)

1:00  – Colorado GOP chair announces that with 98% of the vote – Rick Santorum wins Colorado – it’s a sweep

12:24 - Romney takes slight lead .. shortly after CDN calls it for Santorum.. figures.

12:18 - Anderson Cooper calls Colorado poll attendance “depressing”

12:15a – CDN calls Colorado for Rick Santorum.

11:22 - Colorado results begin coming in again

11:12 - Colorado results coming very slow. No new info in more than 90 minutes.

11:09 - Paul takes the stage to say “We had a strong second place and it’s going to continue”. Looking forward to results in Maine.

10:47 - Santorum takes stage in Missouri and starts with “We doubled him [Romney] up tonight in Missouri and Minnesota”. Santorum also announced “I am not standing here to be the Conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I am the Conservative alternative to Barack Obama.”

10:21 - CDN is calling Minnesota for Rick Santorum

10:15 - Lack of entrance and exit poll data (and slow results from Colorado) will delay CDN’s call on the remaining two states

9:56 - CNN pundit says that “Santorum voters will go to Romney” counting him out of the race despite tonight’s results.

9:45 - with almost 4% in, Santorum clearly posing a challenge to Romney’s “electability” claim

9:40 - Romnemomentum could come to a halt tonight as Santorum is poised to take the middle of the country.

9:33 - CDN is calling Missouri for Rick Santorum with more than 26% of the vote, his lead is significant and accelerating (54.2%)

9:32 - MSNBC’s Maddow misstates result totals in Missouri as 1% of returns when more than 25% are in.

9:22 - CNN tries to get a Romney supporter on Camera from a caucus crowd.. no takers.

9:13 - Missouri results flying in while Minnesota’s are trickling in a bit slower.

9:01 - Herman Cain says that big win for Santorum tonight will only give him a slight “bump” not a “surge”

8:47 - Some pundits already starting to explain Santorum’s early success as a result of low voter turn-out

8:45p - Santorum holding his early lead so far. Paul showing better in MN than MO while the reverse is true for Romney

8:15p - Polls close in Missouri.

8:00pm - Minnesota Caucuses begin