Colorado lawmakers are racing against the calendar — or, depending on one’s outlook — wielding time like a weapon against disfavored policies — to finish their business for the 2024 regular session of the General Assembly.
The legislature must adjourn by the end of the day on May 8, giving them 10 final days. With that deadline pressure, here’s a look at votes and other action by lawmakers Monday.
1:23 p.m.: After lengthy debates, the House passed two gun-reform bills. One, Senate Bill 131, would prohibit people from taking firearms into the state Capitol and certain other government buildings or offices; onto school and university campuses; and to licensed child care facilities.
Senate Bill 003 directs more than $1 million to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to investigate illegal gun sales, plus nearly $400,000 more for other purposes.
Both bills previously passed the Senate but have undergone changes in the House, meaning their sponsors will now decide what to do with those changes before sending the measures to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk.
Republicans opposed both measures (as did a some moderate Democrats), arguing that the bill limited where a gun can be carried would make those spaces less safe.
Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat, countered that the violence should not be solved solely through more violence, and legislators said they feel unsafe because some Republican colleagues carry firearms. Earlier this month, Republican Rep. Don Wilson left a loaded gun in a Capitol bathroom. Last year, two firearms were stolen from Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg’s car outside of the Capitol. The year before that, Republican Rep. Richard Holtorf dropped his gun in a public area while running to vote.
11:50 a.m.: The Colorado Senate voted 29-5 to let voters amend the Colorado Constitution to remove a defunct provision that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The provision hasn’t been enforceable since the landmark 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Republican Sens. Mark Baisley, Byron Pelton, Rod Pelton, Kevin Van Winkle and Perry Will voted against the measure. It still needs approval in the House — where Democrats hold a supermajority — before it goes to voters for approval.
Republicans hold a minority of seats in the Senate, as well, but have enough seats to stop proposed constitutional amendments, which require two-third support, if they unify against them. They used that margin earlier this session to stop a proposed amendment to allow people to bring civil claims of childhood sexual assault regardless of when that assault happened.
But Monday’s vote included several Republicans joining with Democrats, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold.
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